Right-wing, anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson released early from prison: Why was his jail term controversial?

Time of India

27-05-2025

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson, after being released from jail (Photo: X)
Far-right activist Tommy Robinson was released early from prison on Tuesday after a high court judge reduced his sentence for contempt of court by four months.
Robinson's real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
He was serving an 18-month jail term for breaching a court order that barred him from repeating false allegations about a Syrian refugee.
The 42-year-old left HMP Woodhill in Buckinghamshire on Tuesday, after the court accepted that he had shown a 'change in attitude' and taken steps to comply with the injunction.
In October 2024, Robinson was sentenced to 18 months—14 months as punishment and four months as a coercive measure to push him to follow a 2021 injunction.
That injunction followed a successful libel case by Jamal Hijazi, a schoolboy Robinson falsely accused online of attacking girls, despite a viral video in 2018 showing Hijazi being assaulted.
— TRobinsonNewEra (@TRobinsonNewEra)
Although the sentencing judge noted Robinson showed 'no remorse or contrition', Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson ruled last week that the coercive part of the sentence had served its purpose.
After the release, Robinson appeared visibly changed, with longer hair and a beard.
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In a video shared on his X account, he gave an assurance that he would not repeat the allegations.
'He has given an assurance that he will comply with the injunction in the future, that he has no intention of breaching it again,' said Justice Johnson. 'I consider it appropriate to grant the application.'
The Solicitor General brought two contempt cases against Robinson after he ignored the high court's order.
The first was in June 2023 and focused on Robinson promoting a film called Silenced, which included defamatory claims. It was also pinned to the top of his X profile and shared in interviews.
The second was filed in August and concerned Robinson playing the film at a rally in Trafalgar Square and included six further breaches.
In total, he admitted to ten breaches of the injunction.
The court heard Robinson's behaviour had led to a campaign of abuse against Hijazi and forced the teenager's family to move house for their safety, reports the Independent.
Despite previously fleeing the country to avoid
legal
consequences, Robinson returned and was taken into custody in October 2024.
Robinson's legal team argued that he had removed much of the offending content and no longer intended to defy the injunction.
The judge accepted this, but warned that any future breaches could land him back in prison for up to two years.
Contempt of court, though classified as a civil offence, can still lead to criminal penalties such as imprisonment. It typically involves behaviour that disrupts the legal process, like breaching reporting restrictions or sharing material that could affect active cases. In Robinson's case, the offences stemmed from defying a legal reporting ban, rather than any direct attempt to influence the outcome of a trial.