Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Judge jails EX-EDL boss for contempt
Robinson gets 13 months over court video
ENGLISH Defence League founder Tommy Robinson has been jailed for 13 months for contempt of court.
The far-right activist, 35, now fears he will be killed in jail and is said to “deeply regret” his actions.
He was arrested on Friday outside Leeds crown court for live blogging during an ongoing trial.
Robinson was hauled in front of Judge Geoffrey Marson QC after filming an hour long rant on Facebook Live which was viewed a quarter of a million times.
The court heard his outburst could derail the case he was protesting about.
Robinson, on a suspended sentence for a similar offence last year, pleaded guilty and was immediately sent down.
The judge also ordered no media coverage of the case Robinson attended “to avoid a substantial risk to the administration of justice.”
Details of the case will be released after legal proceedings have ended.
Robinson supporters later flocked to Downing Street to demand his release. Anti-islam Dutch politician Geert Wilders attacked the UK for “behaving like North Korea and Saudi Arabia”.
But the judge explained why Robinson had been in contempt “Nothing may occur which will prejudice the trial. He was expressing his views. Everyone understands the right to freedom of speech but there are responsibilities.”
He told Robinson that his actions could cause the ongoing trial to be re-run, costing “hundreds and hundreds of thousands” of pounds.
He added: “If jurors in my trial get to know of this video I will no doubt be faced with an application to discharge the jury.
“I regard it as a serious aggravating feature that he was encouraging others to share it and it had been shared widely.”
Robinson’s lawyer claimed the activist could be killed in jail.
Matthew Harding said his client, who appeared under his real name, Stephen Christopher Yaxley-lennon, felt “deep regret” at his actions.
Mr Harding said inmates had been offered drugs and mobile phones to kill Robinson during his last prison term.
Robinson has a long criminal record. The married dad-of-three, of Wilstead, Bedford, founded the EDL in 2009 and quit in 2013.
The EDL was responsible for violent marches and street clashes.