Far-right activist Tommy Robinson was today (28 October) jailed for 18 months in contempt of court after he repeatedly made false allegations against a Syrian refugee in breach of an injunction.

Robinsonwhose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is the former leader of the anti-immigration group the English Defense League.

In a ruling by Mr Justice Johnson, the 41-year-old was jailed for 18 months for “flagrant” breaches of a 2021 High Court order.

“No one is above the law”

Johnson said “no one is above the law,” addressing Robinson, who was previously found in contempt of court on three separate occasions.

“All his actions to date suggest he considers himself above the law,” Johnson told Woolwich Crown Court.

He added: “Each violation of the order was a calculated, planned, deliberate, direct and flagrant violation of the court’s order.”

Breach of the order included the screening of a 90-minute documentary titled Silent at a rally in Trafalgar Square in July and shared it on X (formerly Twitter), where it was viewed by 44 million people. The documentary was found to “substantially” repeat the false allegations.

At Woolwich Crown Court on Monday (October 28), Robinson confirmed he had admitted 10 breaches of the order.

The court heard Robinson was banned from repeating false allegations against Jamal Hijazi, a Syrian refugee who sued him for defamation after he was assaulted in October 2018 at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

The attack was filmed and a video of the incident went viral, with Robinson falsely claiming in the Facebook videos that Hijazi “is not innocent and is violently attacking English girls at his school”.

Despite the court order, Robinson has continued to repeat defamatory allegations since last February in six podcasts and YouTube interviews, including one with controversial media commentator Jordan Peterson.

“This case is about disobedience to a court order and the undermining of the rule of law that comes with it,” said Aidan Eardley KC, representing the solicitor-general.

After hearing the judge’s verdict, Tommy Robinson shrugged, saluted the public gallery and pumped his chest as he left the dock, reported The Independent.

Judge Johnson explained that Robinson would serve half of his sentence in custody, with the possibility of it being reduced to 14 months if he “eliminates” his contempt by removing false claims from his social media.

Robinson shook his head in visible disapproval of the suggestion.