Tommy Robinson walks FREE from jail four months early for contempt of court after ‘lifer made death threats'
TOMMY Robinson has walked free from jail four months early after there was reportedly a mark put on his head by a lifer.
Robinson - real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - was locked up for 18 months in October but showed a "change in attitude".
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Tommy Robinson has walked free from jail four months early
Credit: X
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The far-right activist looked unrecognisable with a full beard as he left HMP Woodhill
Credit: Twitter
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Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson arrives at Folkestone Police Station in Folkestone, in October, 2024
Credit: Reuters
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Robinson is displayed on a screen, as people attend an anti-immigration protest in London on October 26, 2024
Credit: Reuters
The far-right activist looked unrecognisable with a full beard as he left HMP Woodhill.
He declared: "Unfortunately the country doesn't believe in free speech."
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."
Tommy Robinson to be FREED from jail within days after showing 'change in attitude'
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".
He claimed he was being "segregated" from the other inmates at HMP Woodhill in Buckinghamshire.
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".
They added: "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.
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Tommy Robinson outside Folkestone Police Station
Credit: PA
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Police stand by as supporters of Robinson attend a Uniting the Kingdom march from Victoria to Parliament Square in central London on October 26, 2024
Credit: AFP
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Court artist drawing of Robinson (right), whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, appearing at Woolwich Crown Court, south London
Credit: PA
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Robinson speaks during a rally in Parliament Square after the final leg of the 'March to Leave' in London, 2019
Credit: AP
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