Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

HM Solicitor General v Yaxley-Lennon: Court of Appeal (England and Wales) hears contempt sentence appeal with fresh evidence of PTSD/ADHD from segregation; compliance could shorten term

Published on: 15 April 2025

Published by a Law360 reporter

Legal News

Article summary

Counsel for Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, argued that his client is held in segregation for his own protection, a regime said to have prompted a ‘deterioration’ in his health. Alisdair Williamson KC of Three Raymond Buildings said that, while authorities are keeping him safe by isolating him, that very safeguard is making him progressively more unwell than the sentencing judge anticipated. In October, Judge Jeremy Johnson imposed an 18 month prison term for breaching a court order that forbade him from repeating false claims about a Syrian schoolboy refugee who had already won a libel action. Jamal Hijazi, aged 15 at the time, had sued over allegations of violence, assertions Yaxley-Lennon maintained at trial were true.

After a 2021 trial, High Court Judge Matthew Nicklin found the allegations were false. He ordered Yaxley-Lennon not to repeat them and to pay Hijazi £100,000 in damages plus the schoolboy’s legal costs. Yaxley-Lennon, 42, went on to breach the order between February 2023 and July 2024 by reiterating the claims in online interviews, which were watched by millions of people after public figures shared them online after they were shared online by public figures and were viewed by millions online...

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