Tommy Robinson jailed for 18 months after admitting contempt of court

Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after admitting contempt of court. The 41 year old admitted to 10 breaches of a High Court order made in 2021 during a hearing at Woolwich Crown Court on Monday, October 28.

The charges relate to false claims he repeated against a Syrian refugee who had successfully sued him. Lawyers for the Solicitor General accused Robinson of "undermining" the rule of law by breaching the court order on multiple occasions, including airing a documentary at a rally in Trafalgar Square in July.

Barristers for Robinson, dressed in a grey suit and white shirt, argued that it was his "principles that have brought him before the court". In sentencing, Mr Justice Johnson stated that the breaches were not "accidental, negligent or merely reckless", but rather a "It was a planned, deliberate, direct, flagrant breach of the court's orders.

He added: "Nobody is above the law. Nobody can pick and choose which injunctions they obey and those they do not. It is in the interests of the whole community that injunctions are obeyed."