Far-right activist Tommy Robinson has admitted contempt of court after he repeated false allegations about a Syrian refugee schoolboy in breach of an injunction.
The 41-year-old, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, admitted at Woolwich Crown Court to breaching an injunction made after he was successfully sued for libel in 2021.
Those who commit contempt of court can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.
A High Court order in 2021 had barred him from repeating libellous allegations against Jamal Hijazi.
The Solicitor General issued two contempt claims against Robinson earlier this year, claiming he “knowingly” breached the order on multiple occasions.
Robinson, who founded the far-right English Defence League, appeared in the dock today after being remanded in custody on Friday, wearing a grey suit and waistcoat with no tie.
People outside Woolwich Crown Court as Tommy Robinson admits contempt of court. Pic: PA
At the start of a hearing, Aidan Eardley KC, for the Solicitor General, said a “resolution” had been reached over the allegations, and read them out to the court.
When asked by Mr Justice Johnson whether he accepted he had committed the breaches, Robinson nodded and then replied “yes”.
What was the initial libel case about?
Mr Hijazi was filmed being attacked at a school in Huddersfield in 2018.
The clip went viral before Robinson claimed in two Facebook videos that the boy was “not innocent and he violently attacks young English girls in his school”.
The boy’s lawyers said the comments had “a devastating effect” on him and his family, who had come to the UK as refugees, forcing them to move home and abandon his education.
Robinson has admitted contempt of court days after he handed himself in at a police station in Folkestone, Kent, on Friday in a separate case.
He was charged with one count of failing to provide the PIN to his mobile phone under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Robinson, who had been due to lead a rally in London on Saturday, was remanded in custody.