A protester is detained by police after scuffles broke out outside parliament (Picture: Getty)

Dozens of angry supporters of jailed far-right activist Tommy Robinson scuffled with police outside the Old Bailey then marched on parliament after he was sentenced for contempt of court.

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, 36, – who calls himself Tommy Robinson – was today jailed for contempt of court after he filmed defendants during a trial into the sexual exploitation of girls outside Leeds Crown Court last year.

Violence began to break out between the 200 banner-waving protesters waiting outside court as the news of his sentencing trickled through.

Some hurled smoke bombs, others threw cans and bottles at police in riot gear, who retaliated by raising batons.




A large group then headed towards parliament, blocking roads and shouting ‘shame on you’.

Angry protesters tore down EU flags as they marched, with some later seen burning the flags in front of the Houses of Parliament.

Journalists filming on the College Garden were verbally abused, physically intimidated and had their equipment attacked before police officers arrived.

City of London Police said four people have been arrested including a woman, 28, and two men, 60 and 50, arrested for affray and another woman, 61, arrested for a public order offence.

Supporters direct their anger towards police in riot gear outside the Old Bailey (Picture: Getty)

Some hurled smoke bombs at police

Officers sheltered their eyes as the clashes broke out

Supporters chanted ‘shame on you’

Police in riot gear used batons to keep angry crowds back (Picture: Alamy)

One supporter turned on a BBC film crew outside Parliament (Picture: SWNS)

Journalists were attacked by supporters on College Garden, Westminster (Picture: SWNS)

There were further angry clashes with police outside Westminster Abbey after one protester was pinned to the ground by police officers before being bundled into the back of a van.

Other members of the group confronted police, threw drinks and sat on either side of the van to stop it moving.

Robinson was found in contempt last week for breaching a reporting ban by filming defendants in the Huddersfield rape gang trial while jurors were still considering their verdicts.

After he was sentenced to nine months in prison, Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, the government’s chief legal adviser, said: ‘Today’s sentencing of Yaxley-Lennon serves to illustrate how seriously the courts will take matters of contempt.

‘Posting material online that breaches reporting restrictions or risks prejudicing legal proceedings has consequences.’

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Robinson’s actions could have jeopardised the trial of men accused of child sex offences (Picture: Getty)

Reaction to the news Stephen Yaxley-Lennon was sentenced to nine months in prison for contempt of court (Picture: Getty)

Some 200 protesters marched chanting ‘shame on you’ (Picture: SWNS)

Some fans brought their own England flags on the march (Picture: Reuters)

Supporters ripped down EU flags outside Westminster and began burning them (Picture: SWNS)

Robinson arrived at court wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the message ‘Convicted of Journalism’.

The Society of Editors has branded the claim a ‘dangerous distortion of the truth’.

Executive director Ian Murray said that Robinson had broken the law by ignoring the laws of contempt that any junior reporter working for a reputable news provider would be aware of.

He said: ‘While anyone can claim to be a journalist in this country, and there is no appetite nor should there be for the licensing of journalists in the UK, the mainstream British media adheres to the laws of the land, is correctly regulated and ensures its journalists are highly trained.

‘I am not aware that Robinson has any formal training as a journalist, and to claim his trial and sentencing is an attack of journalism itself is a farce.

‘Sadly there are people who wish to see the media in the UK emasculated and these sorts of claims are so obviously unfounded they provide ammunition to attack us with.’

Supporters of the far right activist marched to parliament following his sentencing (Picture: Reuters)

The EDL founder’s t-shirt was slammed by the Society of Editors as ‘a dangerous distortion of the truth’ (Picture: Getty)

Tommy Robinson was late to court because he was surrounded by fans (Picture: Sky News)

A Tommy Robinson supporter in handcuffs being led away by police outside The Old Bailey (Picture: LNP)

Robinson was arrested in May last year for making the video recordings and jailed for 13 months later that day.



However he successfully appealed against the conviction and was released. The attorney general decided to re-start contempt proceedings against him leading to the hearings last week where he was convicted.

Judges said he had breached a court order, and his actions, aggressively confronting and filming some of the defendants, had created a substantial risk that ‘the course of justice in that case would be seriously impeded’.

In her ruling, judge Victoria Sharp said that in his video Robinson – who argued he is highlighting cases ignored by mainstream media – ‘approves and encourages vigilante action’.

He was jailed for six months for the Leeds contempt and a further three months for a previous contempt of court.

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