By The New York Times (World News) | Created at 2024-10-28 13:15:10 | Updated at 2024-10-28 15:23:46
2 hours ago
Mr. Robinson, the founder of the English Defence League, was sentenced to 18 months for ignoring a court order to stop making false claims about a teenage Syrian refugee.
Oct. 28, 2024, 9:05 a.m. ET
Tommy Robinson, Britain’s best known far-right and anti-immigrant agitator, was sentenced on Monday to 18 months in prison for defying a court order by repeating false claims about a teenage Syrian refugee who successfully sued him for libel.
Mr. Robinson appeared in court and admitted being in contempt of court by breaching a High Court order in 2021 that barred him from repeating the libelous allegations against the Syrian refugee.
The founder of the English Defence League, an Islamophobic, nationalist group known for its violent street protests in the late 2000s and 2010s, Mr. Robinson had been until recently a marginal figure on the far right fringes of British politics.
Mr. Robinson, 41, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, returned to Britain last week after several months abroad. After turning himself in at a police station in Kent, he was detained on Friday on a separate charge before his court hearing in Woolwich, southeastern London.
The sentencing came two days after thousands of his supporters took to the streets of London for a march and rally that prompted a large counterdemonstration. Both events were mostly peaceful with a heavy police presence and just a handful of arrests.
Stephen Castle is a London correspondent of The Times, writing widely about Britain, its politics and the country’s relationship with Europe. More about Stephen Castle
