British anti-Muslim activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, has been sentenced to 18 months in jail after admitting to contempt of court for violating an injunction following a libel lawsuit. Yaxley-Lennon was sued in 2021 by Syrian refugee Jamal Hijazi, resulting in a £100,000 ($129,885) damages ruling from London’s High Court. The court also placed an injunction on Yaxley-Lennon, prohibiting him from repeating defamatory statements, which he repeatedly violated from February 2023 through July.
At Woolwich Crown Court, Judge Jeremy Johnson described the breaches as intentional and flagrant, emphasizing they were neither accidental nor reckless. The British Solicitor General pursued legal action against Yaxley-Lennon over comments he made in online interviews and a documentary titled Silenced, which has been viewed millions of times and was publicly shown in London’s Trafalgar Square in July.
Aidan Eardley, representing the Solicitor General, noted that Yaxley-Lennon had previously been jailed for contempt in 2019 and had other criminal convictions. Media and politicians have criticized Yaxley-Lennon for allegedly fueling tensions leading to unrest in late July, following the murder of three young girls at a dance event in Southport. Yaxley-Lennon, however, accused the media of misrepresenting him.
Yaxley-Lennon’s lawyer, Sasha Wass, argued that he acted out of a firm belief in free speech, asserting that his documentary, Silenced, was produced in collaboration with U.S. conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s Infowars. Judge Johnson sentenced Yaxley-Lennon to 18 months, allowing a reduction of four months if he removes Silenced from circulation and attempts to “purge” his contempt. Despite the warning, Yaxley-Lennon appeared defiant, mouthing “nah” during the proceedings.
