Tommy Robinson, founder of the far-right English Defence League, will face fresh contempt of court proceedings after the High Court gave the attorney-general the go-ahead.
Mr Robinson, 36, whose legal name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was jailed for 13 months last year after he was convicted of contempt of court when he broadcast details of a criminal trial involving grooming of vulnerable girls at Leeds Crown Court by a Huddesfield gang. The footage was watched 250,000 times within hours of it being posted on Facebook despite the fact that reporting is banned until a series of linked trials has been concluded.
However, Mr Robinson’s committal for contempt of court was later overturned by the Court of Appeal and he was released from prison after it decided that the lower court had failed to follow the correct process.
Geoffrey Cox QC, the attorney-general, said in March that he believed there were strong grounds to bring fresh contempt of court proceedings against Mr Robinson after assessing the evidence and considering the wider public interest. However to bring fresh proceedings the attorney-general needed permission of the High Court. This was granted on Tuesday afternoon.
Mr Robinson, who appeared in the Old Bailey in a grey suit and shirt as his supporters staged a noisy demonstration outside waving Union and Ukip flags, will now face a fresh hearing in July at the Old Bailey. Mr Robinson could be fined or sent back to prison if he is found to have been in contempt of court, which carries a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment.
Mr Robinson’s case has proved a rallying point for far-right activists particularly in the US who have claimed that he was jailed because of a clampdown on free speech in Britain. Mr Robinson has been banned by Facebook and Instagram for violating the social media platforms’ rules on hate speech but has a YouTube account.
Mr Robinson is currently standing as an independent MEP candidate for the north-west of England in the European elections. He has attracted controversy as he toured northern towns. Milkshake was thrown over him by protesters on two separate occasions.
On Tuesday Andrew Caldecott QC, barrister representing the attorney-general, argued that the attorney-general wanted to bring proceedings because of concern over Mr Robinson’s filming of the defendants which was then livestreamed.
“The ability of social media to reach millions and that’s what the respondent [Robinson] wanted to happen and intended to happen . . . It’s the attorney-general’s duty to formulate grounds in public interest . . .This conduct is of grave concern and need to be examined,” he said in court.
In written arguments, he claimed that publication of the video “gave rise to a substantial risk that the course of justice would be seriously impeded” and supporters of Mr Robinson who saw the video might “take up his invitation to harass the criminal defendants.”
Mr Robinson’s barrister argued the case should not be pursued partly because of time delays in the proceedings.
