Tommy Robinson loses in court – again – after running scared from judge
A court has fined Tommy Robinson £900 after he dodged a hearing over money he owes to a teenager he publicly lied about.
The former-English Defence League leader falsely accused Jamal Hijazi of attacking girls after footage of him being assaulted in his Huddersfield school was widely shared in 2018.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, lost a libel case brought by the Syrian teen and wound up mired in legal issues after being ordered to pay up.
An order for £43,000 in legal costs was made in 2020 and Mr Hijazi’s lawyers secured a court order forcing Robinson to answer questions about his finances on March 22.
When the 39-year-old swerved the hearing, he faced a contempt of court charge and has now been handed a £900 penalty for not showing up.
Mr Justice Nicklin said Robinson has 14 days to pay and could be liable to serve 28 days in prison if he fails to do so.
The High Court was previously told that Robinson was facing mental health issues at the time of the March hearing, which he claimed were a result of being harassed.
However, on Monday, Mr Justice Nicklin said: ‘Whatever psychiatric issues Mr Lennon had, they did not prevent him from coming to the hearing that he failed to turn up at.’
The judge also called out Robinson’s online campaign in the build up to the hearing, in which he used the words ‘Don’t let them lock Tommy up again’ and ‘Keep him free of the clutches of the corrupt establishment’.
Mr Justice Nicklin said he had decided to fine Robinson prior to seeing the video and that ‘it was never serious enough to justify a period of imprisonment’.
He also noted that Robinson had legal aid for his barrister for Monday’s hearing, adding: ‘He was in no need for donations for his representation today, the state was paying for it.’
A postponed High Court hearing in June heard how the far-right activist and convicted criminal had blown £100,000 in casinos in the two years leading up to his bankruptcy.
He was previously jailed after being found in contempt of court after he filmed men accused of the sexual exploitation of young girls and live-streamed the footage on Facebook, in breach of a reporting ban, outside Leeds Crown Court in May 2018.
He was sentenced to 13 months in jail after being found in contempt of court on the day of the broadcast but served just two months before being freed after that finding of contempt was overturned by the Court of Appeal in August 2018.
The case was then referred back to the Attorney General and he was jailed again in July 2019.
Following Mr Hijazi’s successful libel claim, Mr Justice Nicklin ordered Robinson to pay him damages of £100,000 and his legal costs, thought to be around £500,000.
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