Tommy Robinson case referred to Attorney General

Tommy Robinson attended the Central Criminal Court on Tuesday (October 23) to answer an allegation he committed contempt of court for filming four men, who were later convicted for gang-raping a teenage girl, outside their trial on placing the footage on social media.  

The trial against the far-right leader, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has been going on since 2017 and was subject to reporting restrictions.  

In 2018, he was given a 13-month-sentence for prejudicing a second case and breaching his previous suspended sentence but only served two of these due to an appeal.  

Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC was due to decide whether Robinson should go to jail.  However, he said the Attorney General could allow lawyers to cross-examine both Robinson and witnesses under a less restricted trial. 

Previous court appearances have been marred by violence among Robinson’s supporters. Despite large numbers of protesters outside the Old Bailey on Tuesday, no arrests have yet been made.  

Robinson describes the court cases he filmed as “Muslim gang rapes”. 

Yesterday the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, was criticised for referring to the offenders on Twitter to as “These sick Asian paedophiles”.  

The National Black Police Association said: “Home Secretary’s tweet will not be lost on the bigoted extreme right, and in particular they could be perceived to vilify the actions and antics of their self-appointed leaders, Robinson, Fransen and Goulding.”