Yahoo News Tommy Robinson jailed for 13 months after admitting contempt of court
Tommy Robinson has been jailed for 13 months after breaking contempt of court laws.
Robinson, 35, whose real is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was arrested outside Leeds Crown Court on Friday after using social media to broadcast details of an ongoing trial which is subject to blanket reporting restrictions.
In footage which was played to the court, the far-right activist was seen filming himself and people involved in the trial.
His jail term can be revealed after media outlets successfully contested reporting restrictions imposed on the case last week.
The former leader of the far-right English Defence League was already subject to a suspended jail term after committing the same offence during a rape trial at Canterbury in 2017.
The court heard how the footage, which supposedly lasted around an hour, had been watched 250,000 times within hours of being posted online via Facebook.
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Robinson was sentenced to 10 months for contempt of court and a further three months for breaching the terms of a previous suspended sentence.
His arrest led to a mass protest outside Downing Street at the weekend by his supporters. Police had to be deployed to keep the protesters under control.
A judge told him his actions may cause the rerun of a long-running trial at a cost of ‘hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pounds’.
Initially, a court order was put in place preventing any reporting of Robinson’s arrest and sentencing hearing.
But that was lifted by a judge on Tuesday after it was challenged by media outlets.
Robinson was arrested on suspicion of breaching the peace, and was charged and sentenced within five hours.
Robinson has previous convictions for contempt of court, disobeying a court order, possessing identity documents with intent, fraud, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possessing drugs and threatening behaviour.
He pleaded guilty to contempt of court and breach of a suspended sentence.
Matthew Harding, defending, said his client felt ‘deep regret’ over his actions.
He told the court Robinson thought what he was saying on camera was already in the public domain.
Robinson founded the English Defence League in Luton in 2009 before quitting in 2013.
