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Tommy Robinson has been issued with a second contempt of court notice via his X account, after emails to the far-right activist went unanswered.
The attorney-general’s office, on behalf of Sarah Sackman, the solicitor-general, confirmed that it had taken the unusual step of serving the notice via social media to Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, after it was approved by the judge, Mr Justice Johnson.
The contempt application was first lodged with the High Court last Monday. Both contempt applications will be heard in the High Court on October 28.
The charges relate to a banned film which Robinson, a former leader of the English Defence League, screened to thousands of people at a “patriotic rally” in Trafalgar Square last month. If convicted, he could face up to two years in prison.
In June, the solicitor-general began legal action against Robinson over an alleged breach of a court order after he lost a libel battle in 2021, when he was found to have made false claims about a schoolboy who was assaulted in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, in 2018. The film he screened related to the incident.
He was due to appear before the High Court last month on contempt of court charges, but left the country before the hearing. Robinson also posted the full video on his social media channels. He described the footage as “the film the establishment banned you from seeing”, and admitted the risk that “I’ll be jailed for two years for showing the inconceivable truth.”
Adam Payter, representing the solicitor-general, said screening the film showed a “flagrant” and “admitted” breach of a court order banning its publication.
Although Robinson was arrested in Folkestone, Kent under the Terrorism Act 2000, he was released on unconditional bail and later travelled to Ayia Napa, Cyprus, where he stayed at a high-end hotel.
Johnson issued a warrant for Robinson’s arrest but ordered that it not be carried out “until early October” to allow the activist time to indicate that he would attend the next hearing voluntarily or to apply to “set aside” the warrant.
Robinson later went to Greece after police in Cyprus released a statement saying they were “ready to help” British authorities extradite him amid accusations he had stoked this month’s far-right riots on social media.
Robinson has denied the accusations. He wrote on X: “Let’s get the record straight I didn’t flee the country because of the riots I left the country before any riots. I held a 100,000 strong peaceful protest then riots kicked off in Liverpool that had nothing to do with me. In all my videos I have called for peace and calm.”
His present whereabouts is unclear.
The judge said he was “entirely satisfied” that next month’s hearing could proceed in Robinson’s absence.
Robinson was previously jailed for contempt of court after he live-streamed men accused of sexual exploitation outside Leeds crown court in May 2018, in breach of a reporting ban. He was sentenced to 13 months in jail after being found in contempt on the day of the broadcast, but served just two months after the finding was overturned by the Court of Appeal.
The case was then referred back to the attorney-general and he was jailed again in July 2019.
A landmark ruling in the High Court in 2011 made it legal for court papers to be served via social media.