Tommy Robinson jailed for 18 months after admitting contempt of court

Far-right activist sentenced over false claims about refugee and ordered to pay costs of £80,350.82

The far-right activist Tommy Robinson has been jailed for 18 months for contempt of court for repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee, in breach of an injunction.

He was told that “nobody is above the law” by a judge who said the “flagrant” breaches had been done in a “sophisticated” way to ensure the false claims would achieve “maximum coverage”, reaching tens of millions of people.

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Tommy Robinson’s passport may be invalid, say Irish parliamentarians

Dáil members call for investigation after far-right leader gave false country of birth to Canada’s immigration officers

Irish parliamentarians have called on their government to investigate how an Irish passport was obtained by Tommy Robinson, who has been accused of inciting riots from abroad.

The Luton-born far-right leader travels on an Irish passport in his real name – Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – and was believed to have qualified for it via his mother, an Irish immigrant to Britain.

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The far right has moved online, where its voice is more dangerous than ever

Social media such as X are fuelling the growth of extremism by allowing its figureheads a platform to direct violence

The resurgence of far-right violence in the UK is in part due to Elon Musk’s decision to allow figures such as Tommy Robinson back on to the social media platform X, researchers say.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, and those of his ilk are not leaders in the traditional sense and the far right has no central organisation capable of directing the disorder and violence that has been seen, experts say.

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More than 2,000 officers police protests and Champions League final in London

Forces outside the capital drawn on for Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid match and a Tommy Robinson march and counter-protest

More than 2,000 officers have been deployed across London, including more than 400 from outside the capital, to police the Champions League final, a protest by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson and a counter-demonstration.

The final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid takes place at Wembley on Saturday evening. And, earlier, a protest organised by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, more commonly known as Tommy Robinson, set off from the Victoria area on Saturday, ending in Parliament Square where speeches took place.

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Tommy Robinson not welcome at march against antisemitism, say leaders

Organisers of London protest against anti-Jewish hatred demand that far-right leader stays away, after he claimed to support it

Organisers of a march against antisemitism billed as Britain’s biggest since the second world war have demanded that the far-right leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon stay away.

Yaxley-Lennon, who uses the name Tommy Robinson, has claimed to support the aims of the march through central London due to be held this Sunday.

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Far-right groups plot London rally against pro-Palestine march on Armistice Day

Extremist organisations and football hooligans have been urged to gather at Cenotaph in central London

Far-right groups, from football hooligans to so-called “migrant hunters”, are seeking to mobilise supporters to turn up in central London on Armistice Day to oppose the pro-Palestine march.

Evidence from social media and closed chat forums suggests there has been a push from a range of extremist organisations to get their supporters out.

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BBC’s Question Time accused of giving platform to far right

Letter from all-party group to director general Tony Hall says corporation has duty to avoid inflammatory hate

The BBC has been asked to clarify if any efforts are made to “deliberately invite or attract” members of far-right groups to the audience of its flagship political programme, Question Time.

Baroness Warsi and Labour MP Debbie Abrahams have written to the BBC’s director general Tony Hall, asking him to consider also introducing a new code of conduct for panelists and the audience, and to stop sharing inflammatory videos from the show on social media.

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Tommy Robinson given nine-month jail sentence for contempt of court

Far-right activist will serve 10 weeks after being found guilty of breaching reporting ban

Tommy Robinson has been given a nine-month prison sentence – of which he will serve about 10 weeks – after he was found guilty of contempt of court at an earlier hearing.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, broadcast reports that encouraged “vigilante action” and “unlawful physical” aggression against defendants in a sexual exploitation trial, according to the judges who found him guilty last week.

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Violence breaks out at Tommy Robinson election event

Police promise robust response after fracas in Oldham at European campaign stop

Police have warned there will be arrests after two police vehicles were damaged during a disturbance at a Tommy Robinson campaign event.

Footage posted on social media showed clashes between supporters of the campaigner, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, and counter-demonstrators in Oldham, Greater Manchester, on Saturday afternoon.

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‘Punches, attacks, milkshakes’: inside the Tommy Robinson campaign

As the far-right activist fights to become an MEP, the Guardian learns new details of his modus operandi and support network

A drone hovers high above the crowd on a Wigan housing estate. About 300 men, women and children are gathered before a mobile billboard on a sun-drenched spring evening. A cheer erupts when the main speaker arrives.

Waving a St George’s flag, Tommy Robinson wants the crowd to send a deafening message to “treacherous politicians” and vote him into the European parliament on 23 May. “I am one of you,” he shouts across the estate. “They don’t breathe the same air as us. They do not care about us. But I can guarantee you: I am one of you.”

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‘I’m getting death threats,’ says man who threw milkshake on Tommy Robinson

Danyaal Mahmud says he’s worried about his family after protest against far-right candidate went viral

It was a bright but chilly Thursday morning when Danyaal Mahmud set off from Blackburn to Warrington in Cheshire for a meeting with an occupational health therapist. The 23-year-old works as an apprentice customer services adviser and had never been to a march before.

By the end of the afternoon, Mahmud had become the poster boy for protest; a clip of him throwing a milkshake over Tommy Robinson’s head has been shared as the viral sensation of the week.

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