Tommy Robinson jailed for contempt of court

The far-right activist Tommy Robinson has been jailed for 18 months for contempt of court after repeating false allegations about a Syrian refugee, in breach of an injunction.

- Ben Quinn

He was told: "Nobody is above the law," by a judge who said the "flagrant" breaches had been done in a "sophisticated" way to ensure the false claims would achieve "maximum coverage", reaching tens of millions of people.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had shown no remorse and there was no realistic prospect of rehabilitation, said Mr Justice Johnson, who told Woolwich crown court yesterday: "All of his actions so far suggest that he regards himself as above the law." However, the judge allowed for four months to be removed from the sentence if Robinson "purged" himself by removing the false claims from social media accounts he controlled.

Two days had been set aside for the hearing, but the court was told in the morning that Robinson had admitted contempt through 10 breaches of a high court order made in 2021 which led to the solicitor general issuing two contempt applications.