Tommy Robinson live-streamed outside Leeds Crown Court in May 2018 (Picture: PA)

Tommy Robinson is now facing jail for contempt of court after he breached a reporting restriction during a grooming trial by live-streaming the defendants.

The former EDL leader, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, broadcast the footage from outside Leeds Crown Court live on Facebook for an hour and a half on May 25, 2018.

It was viewed by other Facebook users more than 250,000 times.

Today Dame Victoria Sharp, President of the Queen’s Bench Division said: ‘The respondent’s conduct amounted to a serious interference with the administration of justice.’


She stated that Robinson committed contempt of court in three ways, the first of which was by breaching the reporting restriction put in place for the trial.



Her second point was that his Facebook Live was likely to impede justice, while he also aggressively confronted the defendants, she said.

Contempt of court is punishable by up to two years (Picture: PA)

Robinson, from Luton, Bedfordshire, was jailed for 13 months after being found in contempt of court on the day of the broadcast.

He served two months in jail before being freed after that finding of contempt was overturned by the Court of Appeal in August 2018.

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The case was then referred back to the Attorney General, who announced in March that it was in the public interest to bring fresh proceedings against him.

Today High Court judges heard Robinson had been ‘reckless’ with his filming, and that his ‘whole objective’ had been to film the defendants’ faces.

Andrew Caldecott QC, for the Attorney General, told the Old Bailey that a security officer had suggested Robinson check for reporting restrictions at the court office.

Robinson has always denied any wrongdoing (Picture: PA)

The barrister said the ‘critical question’ was why Robinson ‘declined the invitation to take this obvious step which would have put the matter beyond doubt’.

He added: ‘We say the answer clearly is that he made a reckless assumption as to what he might be able to do because it suited him to do so, and the reason it suited him to do so was that his whole objective was to get the defendants’ faces out there.’

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Mr Caldecott told Dame Sharp and Mr Justice Warby that Robinson ‘took a punt’ by referring to details in previous reports of the Huddersfield grooming case.

The details had been published by the Huddersfield Examiner online before the reporting ban was ordered.

Robinson, who has always denied any wrongdoing, argued that he didn’t believe he was breaching reporting restrictions and had only referred to information that was already in the public domain.

The bus was handed a parking fine (Picture: PA)

The reporting restriction postponed the publication of any details of the case until the end of a series of trials involving 29 people, to ensure all the defendants received a fair trial.

Contempt of court carries a maximum sentence of two years.

Robinson will be sentenced on July 11.

Earlier today a bus, manned by Tommy Robinson supporters and screening films about him, was given a parking fine outside the Old Bailey.

The parking warden, who appeared unaffected by the booing from the crowd, said the penalty for the bus was £130, which could be reduced to £65 if paid quickly.

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