
Tommy Robinson walks FREE from jail four months early for contempt of court after ‘lifer made death threats'
Robinson - real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - was locked up for 18 months in October but showed a "change in attitude".
7
7
7
7
The former EDL leader was jailed for contempt of court after multiple breaches of an injunction in 2021.
The order banned the 42-year-old from repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him for libel.
Robinson's sentence was made up of a 14-month "punitive" element and a four-month "coercive" element - which was slashed.
This was because he "purged" his contempt and showed steps not to break the injunction that originally landed him behind bars.
He was originally due to be released on July 26.
In a ruling, a judge found that while Robinson wasn't showing remorse, he did display a "change in attitude" since being locked up.
The judge also noted that Robinson assured the court he has no intention of repeating his false claims again.
Mr Justice Johnson said: "He (Robinson) has given an assurance that he will comply with the injunction in the future, that he has no intention of breaching it again, and that he is aware of the consequences of what would happen if he breached the injunction again."
Lawyers for the Solicitor General also agreed that Robinson had taken steps to adhere to the injunction.
The former EDL leader previously failed to appeal against the length of his sentence, saying being in a closed wing of prison was making him "ill".
Following threats to his safety, a court heard there were fears Robinson would be assaulted or even killed by a "lifer" for "kudos" - hence the decision to move him to a closed wing.
A lawyer for the Ministry of Justice said at least two inmates were plotting to attack Robinson and that he had a "mark on his head".
The row that led to the far-right activist stems from 2018, when a video went viral that showed Jamal Hijazi, a Syrian in West Yorkshire, being attacked by another teenager at school.
Robinson falsely claimed that Jamal was a violent thug.
As a result of this, the teenager and his family were targeted by death threats.
They were later awarded £100,000 in damages after suing Robinson for defamation, and he was slapped with an injunction banning his from repeating his claims.
But Robinson lashed out again to say he was being "silenced" and re-showed the 2018 video to thousands of his supporters in Trafalgar Square.
When he was jailed, the judge declared his actions were not "accidental, negligent or merely reckless".
'Nobody is above the law. Nobody can pick or choose which laws or which injunctions they obey, or which they do not.
'Even if they believe that an injunction is... contrary to their views they must comply with the injunction.
'They are not entitled to set themselves up as the judge in their own court. Otherwise the administration of justice and rule of law would break down.'
In his bid against being put in a closed wing, it was heard Robinson had access to a laptop and emails in prison.
He has use of an exercise yard for several hours a day, and is able to make social phone calls for four hours daily.
In March this year, Tom Cross, for the MoJ, said in written submissions that 120 people had been authorised to visit him.
He added that Robinson been allowed "over 80 visits", another 13 "non-family visits" approved up to March 30, and the ability to request to see other prisoners.
The activist's visits are two hours of social visits, four days a week, which he said were "well in excess" of prison requirements for unconvicted prisoners, which is at least one hour per visit, three days a week.
7
7
7
Why has Tommy Robinson been jailed for 18 months? Contempt of Court explained
By Ryan Merrifield
TOMMY Robinson has been jailed for 18 months after showing a film containing slurs about a Syrian refugee.
The 41-year-old, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, appeared at Woolwich Crown Court today after breaching a 2021 High Court order barring him from repeating false claims about a then-schoolboy.
Far-right activist Robinson was accused of being in contempt of court over having "published, caused, authorised or procured" a film titled Silenced, which contained the libellous allegations.
The Solicitor General said he "knowingly" breached the order on four occasions.
Robinson breached a 2021 High Court order barring him from repeating false claims about then-schoolboy Jamal Hijazi, who successfully sued him for libel.
The Solicitor General issued the first contempt claim against Robinson in June this year, claiming he "knowingly" breached the order on four occasions.
Lawyers previously told a judge that the breaches included Robinson having "published, caused, authorised or procured" a film titled Silenced, which contained the libellous allegations, in May last year.
The second claim was issued in August, concerning six further breaches, including playing the film to a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in central London earlier this year, which lawyers for the Solicitor General told an earlier hearing was a "flagrant" breach of the court order.
Aidan Eardley KC, for the Solicitor General, said the film was viewed "very extensively", including being seen by 2.2 million people after being reposted by Andrew Tate.
And, he said in written submissions that by the time the second claim was issued, it "had received 44m views on X alone".
He claimed that all of the paragraphs of the injunction were breached "at one point or another" by the film.
The sentence for contempt of court can be up to two years imprisonment at the Crown Court or one month at the magistrates' court.
Contempt of court is a legal term that describes behaviour that interferes with the justice process or risks unfairly influencing a court case, according to Gov.uk.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
39 minutes ago
- BBC News
Anger in Italy over non-consensual photos of women shared online
Facebook has removed an Italian group which saw men sharing intimate images of often unsuspecting women with thousands of people Mia Moglie group, which translates to My Wife in English, had around 32,000 members before it was shut down this discovery has prompted outrage among Italians who are concerned about similar groups growing in its absence. Meta, which owns Facebook, said it closed the page "for violating our Adult Sexual Exploitation policies''. Screenshots taken before the Facebook group was removed appeared to show pictures of women in various states of undress, sometimes asleep or during intimate moments. Underneath the posts there were numerous sexually explicit comments from men. Some said they wanted to "rape" the woman while others praised the secretive nature of some of the photographs. The page was highlighted by the author Carolina Capria who posted online saying she felt "nauseous" and "scared" by what she saw. "This linking of violence to sexuality is so ingrained in our culture that in a public group, men write without hiding their names and faces," she added. Fiorella Zabatta from the European Greens party said on social media that it was "not just harmless fun", but was "virtual rape". "These platforms must be fought, this toxic idea of masculinity must be fought, and we all need to take action: civil society and politics too".Revenge porn, the sharing of sexually explicit images or videos which were intended to remain private, was made illegal in Italy in 2019. Italian media reports suggest more than a thousand people have already reported the group to the police unit which investigates cyber crime. Meta's statement added "we do not allow content that threatens or promotes sexual violence, sexual assault or sexual exploitation on our platforms". The discovery of the Italian facebook page has seen some draw parallels to France's Pelicot case. Last year, Dominique Pelicot was sentenced to 20 years in prison for drugging, abusing and inviting strangers to rape his then wife Gisèle Pelicot. Despite being virtual, Capria said it showed that the Pelicot case was not an anomaly as in both instances, it showed "a man who believes he can control his wife, and for whom sexuality is inextricably linked to oppression".


Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
So was Lucy Connolly really such a danger that she had to spend a year behind bars? JAN MOIR
After serving 40 per cent of her 31-month sentence, Lucy Connolly walked free from prison on Thursday morning. Remember Lucy? She was found guilty of sending hate crime tweets in the immediate aftermath of the Southport attacks last year, in which three little girls were murdered and others stabbed and injured at a Taylor Swift dance class.


Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Inside the 'toxic' livestreaming platform where 'tortured' influencer died - and creators compete for clicks with unsavory acts
The death of online streamer Jean Pormanove has exposed the murky world of a streaming service that appeals to users by providing them with controversial uncensored content that would be banned on mainstream online platforms such as YouTube. The death of 46-year-old content creator Pormanove - real name Raphael Graven - on August 18 has sent shockwaves around France with outraged politicians appalled by scenes of 'absolute horror'. French prosecutors are probing how the former soldier could have been subjected to such a gruelling campaign of sleep deprivation, savage beatings and even forced ingestion of toxic substances in the days before he was found lifeless in bed - with nobody intervening. The broadcast of the livestream reached at least half a million people, raising urgent questions about how such content was allowed to continue unchecked. Critics describe Kick as 'a playground for people to be degenerate,' with the site hosting streams of animals being tortured, people being shot with paintballs, and creators being beaten for entertainment. It has become, in the eyes of many, the internet's most depraved mainstream platform with its appeal seemingly rooted in chaos, shock, and the destruction of boundaries. Pormanove's death is tragically not the first controversy tied to the site. Homeless women have been cruelly pranked, chickens beheaded and tortured - all in pursuit of views, subscribers, and money. Yet the audience only grows. Kick draws around 817,000 users each month, a figure climbing rapidly. Launched in 2022, little is known about its investors beyond its two billionaire co-founders, Bijan Tehrani and Ed Craven. The pair also co-founded Stake - the largest crypto-backed casino in the world. As on Amazon's Twitch, Kick viewers can pay a few pounds to subscribe to channels and unlock special perks including access to personalised digital stickers, unique badges that display next to their username, and access to exclusive content or chat features offered by the creator they subscribe to. Kick stands out from other streaming services mainly due to its highly attractive payment system for content creators. The platform keeps only five per cent of the money paid by users to subscribe to channels, compared to the 30 per cent to 50 per cent cut taken by Twitch. The platform is also notorious for its much more permissive moderation policy. Kick allows certain gambling activities that are banned on Twitch, as well as sexually suggestive scenes or content involving humiliation or violence – such as those involving Pormanove – to be broadcast without automatic sanctions. Chicken tortured and beheaded In December last year, popular streamer Rangesh Mutama, known online as N3on, faced backlash and was banned from Kick following allegations of animal abuse during a livestream. The incident reportedly occurred during a 24-hour survival-themed stream where N3on was said to have tortured a chicken before prepping it to eat while 'stuck on a desert island' along with fellow streamer Mo Deen. In the stream, N3on is seen with other streamers catching the small animal before devising a plan on how they would butcher and consume it. Although N3on did not kill the chicken himself, he was encouraging Mo Deen to carry out the vile act while laughing and interacting with viewers on camera. Deen allegedly hacked off the chicken's head off camera. But the violence and lack of guilt surrounding the lead-up to the deed caused Kick to ban the streamer. N3on responded to the ban and defended his actions on X, claiming he didn't violate the terms of Kick as the chicken was killed off-camera. Kick community guidelines state: 'No illegal violence against animals will be tolerated. Videos displaying legal hunting practices are permitted. 'However, graphic, close up and gruesome displays of animal suffering are not allowed.' Streamer shot with paintball in brutal contest Paul 'Ice Poseidon' went viral after beginning a simulated jail livestream on the Kick platform in 2023. The experience involved challenges and tasks that the participants had to complete in order to 'escape' the virtual prison. The last man standing by the end of the challenge would win £37,000. In the hours-long footage, the controversial internet personality can be seen in one moment firing a paintball from short-distance at a contestant. The Florida native, real name Paul Dennis Denino, issued a chilling warning to participants who violated the rules, saying: 'Gary, against the wall. Instead of tasers, if you guys break the rules in the future, you're going to get paintball'. Poseidon fired the paintball at the contestant who was faced away from him, arms and legs stretched out. Moments after the trigger was pulled, the participant could be seen clutching their back while screaming before dropping to the floor and writhing in agony. The other men gathered around in orange jumpsuits watched on without offering any support or comfort. Poseidon was also seen tasering participant Carl, while another Kick streamer who was involved in the bizarre challenge was seen being taken to the 'prison' bathroom with his hands cuffed behind his back and a bag over his face. He quickly learned that only a very small curtain separated him from the eyes of the audience, who were able to watch his every move. Died on livestream after 10 days of 'torture' The most recent controversy involved Raphael Graven, better known online as Jean Pormanove, who was a prominent figure in France 's streaming world with over a million followers across social media. But behind his online persona, he was allegedly trapped in a nightmare of gruesome online challenges involving humiliation, violence, and dangerous stunts. The popular Kick creator, 46, was found dead overnight on August 18, in bed at his home in Contes, near Nice. Like something from a Black Mirror episode, he is believed to have passed away in his sleep during a live broadcast, following what friends have described as relentless 'humiliation streams'. Clips of his previous livestreams online show him being slapped, beaten, covered in paint, choked, thrown across the room, jumped on, vomitted on, and strangled while having food forced into his mouth. His tormentors, earning tens of thousands of euros per month, with 500,000 subscribers on the platform that made them stars of French-speaking Kick, regularly using them for their business promotions. It has been reported that a few days before his death, Pormanove sent a heartbreaking final message to his mother to say he felt as if he was 'being held hostage' and admitted he was 'fed up' with the controversial streams that had become his trademark. France's Minister for Digital Affairs and Artificial Intelligence, Clara Chappaz, condemned the ordeal as an 'absolute horror' and said platforms must do more to protect vulnerable creators. Sarah El Haïry, the High Commissioner for Children, described the tragedy as 'horrifying', warning parents to remain vigilant about the violent content children can access online. Kick, the streaming platform where Jeanpormanove built his following, said it was 'deeply saddened' by his death and promised to urgently review the circumstances. 'We are urgently reviewing the circumstances and collaborating with relevant stakeholders. Kick's community guidelines are designed to protect creators, and we are committed to enforcing them across our platform,' a spokesperson told AFP. Homeless dine and dash prank Last October, a Kick streamer who is known online as Dumbdumbjeez, was booted from the platform after a video he posted showed him dining and dashing, leaving an alleged homeless woman to fork out on the bill. In the cruel video, which the content creator said was part of a contest to win over £35,000, the young man was seen showing the receipt of a steep £56 bill before panning the camera to show a women smiling meekly opposite him. Dumbdumbjeez tells the woman, who he says is called Mabel, that he needs to leave the restaurant to get his wallet from the car before filming himself exiting through the front door. But the streamer steps into the backseat of a vehicle that was waiting for him down the road and leaves the woman alone with the bill. The clip went viral and Kick's co-founder Bijan Tehrani said he didn't find the 'prank' funny, and went on to ban Dumbdumbjeez from the platform. 'This pathetic and now banned streamer did this while trying to win a contest for $50k. I'm disappointed this happened on Kick and we've got $50k for this lady if anyone can connect us,' Tehrani wrote on X. Dressed like a 'dirty crackhead registered sex offender' Controversial social media star Natalie Reynolds has been dubbed 'The Most Dangerous on Kick' for her concerning behaviour carried out in the name of getting clicks. Ranging from posting videos including Surviving 24 Hours as a 600lbs Person, to stripping in shopping centres and interviewing children in public, Reynolds has caused a stir in the streaming scene and is known as a key 'rage baiter'. In one video, the 26-year-old, who has over 33,000 followers on Kick and more than 5.8million on YouTube, threatens to soil a public swimming pool before mocking the homeless population. The blonde content creator told her viewers she spent two hours applying makeup to look like a 'dirty crackhead and registered sex offender called Susie who has just escaped pedo village' before sitting on a public floor. It came after another stream she carried out where she visited a designated neighbourhood for registered sex offenders to live in, separated from the rest of society. She went dressed in a pink t-shirt and shorts, with her hair in pigtails while carrying a fluffy teddy bear-themed rucksack and offered them cupcakes. This sparked fury among viewers, but tens of thousands of people logged in to watch the controversial stream. Posted on her Kick channel is a 50-second clip of her being whipped by what appears to be a lingere-clad dominatrix. With almost 40,000 views, it is likely the free clip is readily available to encourage new subscribers. Reynolds is also known for a swathe of other cruel and dangerous social media stunts, including daring a woman who apparently couldn't swim to jump into a lake. The streamer, claiming to be shocked, then fled the scene. She was later filmed with her producers as a fire truck 'rushed' to the scene. While many of the details remained unclear, Austin Fire Department confirmed that they were called to Lady Bird Lake for a 'medical call' for a rescue. Disgusted social media users blasted the streamer for her callous behavior. Ranging from posting videos including Surviving 24 Hours as a 600lbs Person (pictured), to stripping in shopping centres and interviewing children in public, Reynolds has caused a stir in the streaming scene and is known as a key 'rage baiter' Does anything go on Kick? But despite the swathe of controversies, not everything is permitted on Kick. That hasn't stopped the site, however, from actively cashing in on its 'edgy' reputation. The controversial platform has become a magnet for influencers banned elsewhere, or those who thrive on provocation and outrage. Among its biggest signings was American streaming sensation Amouranth, who had been temporarily suspended from Twitch for videos branded too sexualized. Pro-Trump influencer Adin Ross also made the jump after his 2023 Twitch ban - and has since become one of Kick's most notorious stars. Ross, who is infamous for sexist, homophobic and racist outbursts, was welcomed with open arms by Kick. Though Twitch eventually reinstated him, his brand of controversy now thrives on the Australian platform. And it's not just English-speaking provocateurs. French influencers have also found a home on Kick, including YouTuber Marvel Fitness, who was convicted of psychological harassment in 2021 and later banned from other services. In September 2023, viewers were stunned when an escort was filmed being detained against her will inside the apartment of streamer Ice Poseidon - as one of Kick's own executives, Craven, made a tasteless joke about it live on air. The chaos didn't stop there. A year later, two US influencers, Jack Doherty and Sam Pepper, were both booted off the site after high-profile stunts. Doherty was banned for crashing his car during a livestream, while Pepper tricked a homeless woman in a staged, humiliating event. Yet, remarkably, Pepper appears to be back on the platform. And despite his controversies, Ross remains one of Kick's biggest names, even inviting white supremacist Nick Fuentes and disgraced men's rights influencer Andrew Tate onto his shows. Far from keeping a distance, Kick itself regularly promotes Ross's streams - proof, critics say, that the site isn't just tolerating controversy, it's building its entire empire on it. Daily Mail has contacted Kick for comment.