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Sky News
27-05-2025
- General
- Sky News
Tommy Robinson released early from prison after sentence reduced
Tommy Robinson has been released early from his 18-month jail term for the offence of contempt of court. The far-right political activist, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had his sentence cut by four months at the High Court last week. He was originally due to be released on 26 July. The 42-year-old was jailed in October last year after admitting breaching a 2021 High Court order banning him from repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him for libel. Speaking outside prison, looking visibly different with longer hair and a bushy beard, he thanked Elon Musk, who had been a vocal supporter of his. Robinson's sentence was made up of a 14-month "punitive" element and a four-month "coercive" element, with sentencing judge Mr Justice Johnson telling him he could have the latter taken off his sentence if he were to "purge" his contempt by taking steps to comply with the injunction. He applied to purge his contempt at a hearing on 20 May, with his lawyers telling the court he had shown "commitment" to comply with the order. Lawyers for the Solicitor General agreed Robinson had taken steps to adhere to the injunction. In a ruling, Mr Justice Johnson said while there was an "absence of contrition or remorse" from Robinson, he had shown a "change in attitude" since he was sentenced. He 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." He continued: "I consider it appropriate to grant the application." Robinson said he will organise a free speech festival for supporters later this year. In a separate case, he is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 5 June accused of harassing two journalists. Robinson was charged with two counts of harassment causing fear of violence between 5 August and 7, 2024. In addition, he is facing a trial in October next year over an accusation that he failed to provide the pin for his mobile phone when stopped by Kent Police in Folkestone in July 2024
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Tommy Robinson released early from prison after sentence reduced
Tommy Robinson has been released early from his 18-month jail term for the offence of contempt of court. The far-right political activist, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had his sentence cut by four months at the High Court last week. He was originally due to be released on 26 July. The 42-year-old was jailed in October last year after admitting breaching a 2021 High Court order banning him from repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him for libel. Speaking outside prison, looking visibly different with longer hair and a bushy beard, he thanked Elon Musk, who had been a vocal supporter of his. Read more on Sky News: Robinson's sentence was made up of a 14-month "punitive" element and a four-month "coercive" element, with sentencing judge Mr Justice Johnson telling him he could have the latter taken off his sentence if he were to "purge" his contempt by taking steps to comply with the injunction. He applied to purge his contempt at a hearing on 20 May, with his lawyers telling the court he had shown "commitment" to comply with the order. Lawyers for the Solicitor General agreed Robinson had taken steps to adhere to the injunction. In a ruling, Mr Justice Johnson said while there was an "absence of contrition or remorse" from Robinson, he had shown a "change in attitude" since he was sentenced. He 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." He continued: "I consider it appropriate to grant the application." Robinson said he will organise a free speech festival for supporters later this year. In a separate case, he is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 5 June accused of harassing two journalists. Robinson was charged with two counts of harassment causing fear of violence between 5 August and 7, 2024. In addition, he is facing a trial in October next year over an accusation that he failed to provide the pin for his mobile phone when stopped by Kent Police in Folkestone in July 2024
The Sun
27-05-2025
- The Sun
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". 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
Telegraph
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Tommy Robinson to be freed from prison within days
Tommy Robinson is due to be released from prison in the coming week after his 18-month sentence for the civil offence of contempt of court was reduced at the High Court. The far-Right activist, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was jailed in October after admitting multiple breaches of an injunction made in 2021, which barred him from repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee. On Tuesday, Robinson was told his sentence would be reduced by four month after he agreed to remove a film which contains the libellous allegations from his social media profile. The film, Silenced, was pinned to the top of Robinson's profile on X throughout his imprisonment but has now been taken down. Robinson's sentence comprised a 14-month 'punitive' element and a four-month 'coercive' element, with sentencing judge Mr Justice Johnson telling him he could have the latter taken off his sentence if he were to 'purge' his contempt by taking steps to comply with the injunction. Robinson, who was previously due to be released on July 26, applied to purge his contempt at a hearing on Tuesday, with his lawyers telling the court that he had shown a 'commitment' to comply with the order. Lawyers for the Solicitor General said they agreed that Robinson had taken steps to adhere to the injunction. In a ruling, Mr Justice Johnson said that there was an 'absence of contrition or remorse' from Robinson, but that he had shown a 'change in attitude' since he was sentenced. He 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.' He added: 'I consider it appropriate to grant the application. 'The practical effect, subject to confirmation by the prison authorities, is that the defendant will be released once he has completed the punitive element, which I understand will be within the next week.' Robinson, who attended the hearing via video-link from HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes, showed no immediate reaction once the judgment was handed down. Ten breaches of injunction He was jailed last year for 10 admitted breaches of the injunction, after the Solicitor General issued two contempt claims against him. The first alleged he 'knowingly' breached the order on four occasions, including by having 'published, caused, authorised or procured' the film in May 2023. The film was pinned to the top of Robinson's profile on the social media site X, while he also repeated the claims in three interviews between February and June 2023. The second claim was issued in August last year and concerned six further breaches, including playing the film at a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in central London last summer. Handing down the sentence at Woolwich Crown Court, Mr Justice Johnson said Robinson could 'purge' his contempt by showing 'a commitment to comply with the injunction'. He said this could include taking steps such as removing Silenced and other publications which breached the injunction from his social media accounts. Segregated from other prisoners After being jailed, Robinson lost a bid to bring a legal challenge against the Ministry of Justice over his segregation from other prisoners behind bars in March. He then lost a challenge to his sentence at the Court of Appeal in April, but three senior judges said he could 'still reduce the period he has to spend in custody by taking the steps identified' by Mr Justice Johnson. The injunction was issued after Robinson was successfully sued by Jamal Hijazi, a then-schoolboy who was assaulted at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield, West Yorks, in October 2018. After a clip of the incident went viral, Robinson made false claims on Facebook, including about Mr Hijazi attacking girls in his school, leading to the libel case. Mr Justice Nicklin ordered Robinson to pay Mr Hijazi £100,000 in damages and his legal costs, as well as making the injunction preventing Robinson from repeating the allegations.
Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Tommy Robinson due to be released from prison within days
Tommy Robinson will be released from prison within the next week after his 18-month sentence for the civil offence of contempt of court was reduced by four months at the High Court. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was jailed in October after admitting multiple breaches of an injunction made in 2021 that barred him from repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him for libel. The sentence comprised a 14-month 'punitive' element and a four-month 'coercive' element. The sentencing judge Mr Justice Johnson told Robinson he could have the latter taken off his sentence if he 'purged' his contempt by taking steps to comply with the injunction. • Tommy Robinson in jail: 1,250 phone calls and daily doctor visits Robinson
