The far-right activist Tommy Robinson has been jailed for 18 months for contempt of court docket for repeating false allegations towards a Syrian refugee, in breach of an injunction.
He was informed that “no one is above the regulation” by a decide who stated the “flagrant” breaches had been performed in a “subtle” means to make sure the false claims would obtain “most protection”, reaching tens of thousands and thousands of individuals.
Robinson, whose actual identify is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had proven no regret and there was no reasonable prospect of rehabilitation, stated Mr Justice Johnson, who informed Woolwich crown court docket on Monday: “All of his actions up to now recommend that he regards himself as above the regulation.”
Nevertheless, the decide allowed for 4 months to be faraway from the sentence if Robinson “purged” himself by eradicating the false claims from social media accounts he managed.
Whereas two days had been put aside for the listening to, the court docket was informed within the morning that Robinson had admitted contempt via 10 breaches of a excessive court docket order made in 2021, and which led to the solicitor normal issuing two contempt purposes.
The listening to was informed that Robinson had in impact repeated the entire allegations that led to him shedding a libel case introduced by Jamal Hijazi, who had been filmed being attacked at a faculty in West Yorkshire.
Shortly after the video of the incident went viral, Robinson falsely claimed in Fb movies that Hijazi was “not harmless and he violently assaults younger English ladies in his faculty”.
The false claims have been repeated by Robinson in interviews with figures together with Gareth Icke, son of the conspiracy theorist David Icke, and in a movie made by Robinson. Entitled Silenced, it was considered by thousands and thousands of individuals because of being shared on on-line platforms together with that of the misogynist influencer Andrew Tate.
Aidan Eardley KC, for the solicitor normal, stated: “The movie is a considerable piece of labor. It lasts about 90 minutes and is totally dedicated to the Hijazi story.”
Different breaches of court docket directions included airing the movie on screens throughout a rally that Robinson organised for his supporters in Trafalgar Sq. on 27 July.
The solicitor normal, Sarah Sackman, stated: “Those that breach court docket orders threat discovering themselves in contempt of court docket. The sentence issued by the decide as we speak confirms that nobody ought to think about themselves above the rule of regulation.”
Rupert Lowe, a Reform UK MP, tweeted that he hoped Robinson could be given safety to make sure his security in jail, including that he could be elevating issues with the Ministry of Justice on behalf of constituents.
Initially of the listening to, Eardley stated a “decision” had been reached over the allegations.
When requested by Mr Justice Johnson whether or not he accepted he had dedicated the breaches, Robinson nodded after which replied: “Sure.”
Referring to Robinson by his actual identify, Eardley stated the case was not concerning the far proper determine’s political actions. “It’s a case about disobedience to an order of a court docket and an undermining of the rule of regulation,” he stated.
The court docket was informed by Sasha Wass KC, for Robinson, that he was a journalist and it was his “ideas which have introduced him earlier than the court docket”. She argued for mitigation on the idea that her shopper had pleaded responsible “sooner fairly than later” regardless that he beforehand failed to show up at a listening to of the case in July.
Robinson was ordered to pay prices of £80,350.82 sought by the solicitor normal. He was reminded by Mr Justice Johnson that he would nonetheless be topic to the injunction after his launch and chargeable for sanction once more if he breached it. The potential for early launch after 14 months was depending on, on the very least, eradicating Silenced from his social media accounts.
The anti-racism marketing campaign group Hope Not Hate, which initially put collectively a file detailing how Robinson had breached the injunction, stated: “At the moment’s verdict proves that even Lennon’s actions have penalties and goes some method to delivering justice for Jamal Hijazi.”