Tommy Robinson facing new contempt of court claim over alleged injunction breach

A new contempt of court application has been lodged against Tommy Robinson over alleged breaches of a High Court order from 2021, the Attorney General’s Office has said.

Law officers allege that Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, breached an injunction barring him from repeating libellous allegations through six actions between June and July this year.

The order came after he lost a legal battle against a Syrian refugee who had sued him for libel.

The AGO said Robinson was served with the latest contempt application, made on behalf of Solicitor General Sarah Sackman, on his X account on Wednesday after the application was lodged on August 19.

It follows an earlier contempt application concerning other alleged breaches of the order, with a court hearing in London last month told that Robinson had left the country.

A hearing for both applications will be held on October 28.

Robinson was first served with contempt proceedings in June, with the Solicitor General telling a previous court hearing that he “knowingly” breached the order by having “published, caused, authorised or procured” a film titled Silenced in May last year.

It is also claimed Robinson repeated the allegations banned by the injunction in three interviews between February and June 2023.

Silenced was then shown again at a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in July this year, which is understood to be part of the alleged breach of the order under the second contempt application.

The film, including an introduction from Robinson standing outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, is also pinned to the top of his X account.

The day after the protest in central London, Robinson was arrested for the “frustration” of a port stop at the Channel Tunnel at Folkestone under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Under Schedule 7, police are allowed to stop anyone passing through a UK port “to determine whether they may be involved or concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”.

The person who is detained can be held for up to six hours, is legally obliged to answer questions, and must provide the password or Pin for electronic devices, or be held to have committed a criminal offence if they refuse.

Adam Payter, representing the Solicitor General at the hearing in July, said that it was believed that following his release on unconditional bail, Robinson then left the country and that there “was nothing to prevent him from doing so”.

Mr Justice Johnson issued a warrant for Robinson’s arrest but ordered that it not be carried out “until early October” to allow Robinson time to indicate that he would attend the next hearing voluntarily or to apply to “set aside” the warrant.

Under the 2021 court order, Robinson was barred from repeating allegations he made against Syrian refugee Jamal Hijazi.

Mr Hijazi successfully sued Robinson after the then-schoolboy was assaulted at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, in October 2018.

After a clip of the incident went viral, Robinson made false claims, 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 he made against the then-teenager.