Tommy Robinson ‘leaves UK’ in contempt of court case after arrest warrant issued

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Tommy Robinson has left the country after being found guilty of “flagrant” contempt of court in connection with a film shown at a protest rally in central London, the High Court was told.

An arrest warrant was issued for Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, after he failed to appear for a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday in a contempt of court case.

The attorney general filed suit against Robinson, 41, in June for allegedly violating a court order after he lost a defamation case in 2021.

But Adam Payter, representing the Solicitor General, said on Monday that the founder of the English Defence League was believed to have left the jurisdiction hours after being released on unconditional bail after being arrested in Kent at the weekend.

Judge Johnson issued a new warrant for Robinson’s arrest after he failed to appear for his hearing, but ordered that it not be executed until “early October” to give Robinson time to either indicate that he would voluntarily appear at the next hearing or to request that the warrant be “quashed.”

Mr Payter said the far-right politician took part in a large demonstration in central London on Saturday at which a film was shown that was “central to this application” and showed a “blatant” and “admitted” breach of the court order.

The court heard that Saturday’s incident was not currently the subject of any contempt of court proceedings; police said further investigations were being carried out.

Around 1,000 police officers were mobilised on Saturday to “keep the peace” as three protests – a “Unite the Kingdom” demonstration organised by Robinson, a Stand Up to Racism march and a Trans Pride protest – drew thousands of people to central London. At least nine people were arrested after clashes.

On Saturday afternoon, Robinson also posted a one-hour and 45-minute version of the film on Twitter/X, saying he had previously avoided releasing the video because he was “scared.”

Kent Police did not name the political activist but confirmed that a 41-year-old man was arrested on Sunday under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 for “thwarting” a Eurotunnel port stop at Folkestone and subsequently released on bail.

According to Annex 7, the police have the power to stop people passing through a British port “to determine whether the person is or may be involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorist acts”.

The detained person can be held for up to six hours and is legally required to answer questions and provide the password or PIN for electronic devices. Failure to do so will result in a criminal offence.

In an audio clip posted to Robinson’s Twitter/X account, he can be heard telling his ex-wife that officers asked for the PIN code for his phone.

Robinson says he objected to the request because his phone contained confidential information about an ongoing Supreme Court case and interviews he conducted in connection with a documentary he is currently filming.

At Monday’s hearing, Mr Payter said: “To our knowledge he did not cooperate with a stop and search at the port. This means he was attempting to leave the country and therefore did not intend to attend this hearing this morning.”

He added that Robinson had been reminded of Monday’s hearing before being released on bail at 10pm on Sunday, but it was now understood that he “left the UK last night and there was nothing to prevent him from doing so”.

A 2021 court order barred Robinson from repeating his allegations against Syrian refugee Jamal Hijazi, who sued him for defamation.

The attorney general alleged in written submissions that Robinson “knowingly” violated the order by “publishing, causing, authorizing or procuring” a film titled “The Last Airbender.” Silenced in May last year.

It is alleged that he then repeated the allegations prohibited by the injunction in three interviews between February and June 2023.

Mr Payter said the film was shown again at Saturday’s screening, but with a new introduction in which Robinson speaks to a camera outside the Royal Courts of Justice.

He added that Robinson was “not subject to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom” and had returned to the UK “with the intention of releasing the film” before leaving the country again “to avoid the jurisdiction of this court”.

The court was told that Robinson was “not subject to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom”, with Mr Payter claiming that Robinson returned to the UK “with the intention of releasing the film” before leaving the country again “to evade the jurisdiction of this court”.

Judge Johnson expressed his “complete satisfaction” that the hearing could proceed in Robinson’s absence and informed the court that another hearing in the case was expected in October.

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

After a clip of the incident circulated online, Robinson made false claims, including that Mr Hijazi had attacked girls at his school, leading to the defamation suit.

Judge Nicklin ordered Robinson to pay Mr Hijazi £100,000 in damages and his legal costs, and granted an injunction preventing Robinson from repeating the allegations he made against the then teenager.

Campaign group Hope Not Hate claimed Robinson ignored the injunction and repeated the allegations, providing a “file of evidence” to the Attorney General’s office, which then initiated legal action.