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Tommy Robinson is bringing a civil claim for harassment against Cambridgeshire Constabulary and today (Tuesday, March 12) was the first day of the hearing.

The case centres around the events of August 27, 2016 when Robinson, who was with his children, was asked to leave the Grain and Hop Store pub on Parker's Piece in Cambridge by police.

He had been in the city to watch his football team, Luton Town, play Cambridge United.

Robinson says he was told to leave the city and was followed all the way to the train station by officers.

He claims he was targeted because of his beliefs, but police say he was part of a group of Luton "risk supporters" who were all asked to leave in case they caused trouble.

A lot went on both in and around the courtroom at Peterbrough County Court, so here is a run-down of some of the main takeaways from the day.

If you want more detail, you can read our live blog from the day here.

1. Tommy Robinson spoke for himself

(Image: Cambridge News)

Robinson was the very first witness to take the stand - and he was outspoken.

He insisted that he had posed "zero risk" of causing disorder after the football match and said he wasn't drinking alcohol on the day in question.

He admitted police hadn't spoken to him about his views on Islam and said the idea that they targeted him because of those views was him "trying to understand why it happened and the way it happened".

He claimed that his daughter had almost run out into traffic while the family were being followed by police officers.

But the force's lawyer Adam Clemens disputed this, saying there was no footage of the incident and Robinson hadn't mentioned it earlier.

Robinson claimed it had been recorded on now-deleted Cambridgeshire police footage.

As a witness the judge told him to answer the questions being asked in the courtroom several times.

The judge, Her Honour Judge Karen Walden-Smith, said she did not want him using the case as a platform after he said: “What is important to me is that when people make mistakes they accept they were wrong. This isn’t about me, I don’t care about your money, it’s about saying to my children that Cambridgeshire police accept what they did was wrong, and that it was an abuse of power.”

2. We learned a lot about how police disperse football hooligans

There were two witnesses from the police force before the court: Inspector Matt Johnson, who made the decision to issue a dispersal order to a group of Luton fans, and PC Hills.

Insp Johnson told the court that police use spotters, officers who follow the club and pass back intelligence, to identify football fans who might be troublemakers.

The inspector said that spotters from Luton told him that Robinson was among a group of these "risk supporters" at the Grain and Hop Store pub.

PC Hills added that this group was known as the "men in gear".

Insp Johnson said he was not aware that Robinson was with his children when he issued the order, although he had seen Robinson with his children earlier. He said he had assumed they had been taken away by another adult at the time the dispersal order was issued.

Robinson's lawyer Allison Gurden pointed out that Section 35 orders - the dispersal orders in question - can only be issued to individuals, not groups.

3. There was a lot of video footage

It's not unusal for there to be police bodycam footage of an incident officers have attended - but in this case Robinson and his friends were filming too.

The court was shown four different videos at the start of the case.

The first was taken by Robinson and a friend, in which an officer asks him to leave "because there is likely to be disorder".

Robinson responds forcefully, asking questions, and the video shows Robinson walking through the street with officers. Crying can be heard in the background.

A second video shows Robinson telling police they have "terrorised [his] family" as they follow him.

A third video features a Luton officer telling the pub's manager that the group are being kicked out of the pub because there was disorder at the match which involved the group.

And a fourth features an officer telling Robinson he has been identified as being part of violence.

4. Supporters turned out for Tommy Robinson

(Image: Cambridgeshire Live)

There was a group of around 10 supporters outside the court when Robinson arrived. They had their phones out and were wishing him good luck.

Inside the court there were around seven or eight supporters in the public gallery at any one time.

When Robinson was asked if he was prepared to accept that there are people who don't know his views, a voice from the gallery called out, "We don't think so," before being shushed.

Later when there was a disagreement over cross-examination, HHJ Walden-Smith told the gallery they wouldn't be allowed back in if they couldn't remain out of it.

5. Someone came from Canada just to live-tweet it

Ezra Levant, Canadian founder of right-wing media company The Rebel Media, which Tommy Robinson also works for, was in the courtroom.

He had come to the UK just to live-tweet the case online, telling his Twitter followers he had arrived the same morning into Heathrow Airport.

But he also received a telling-off from HHJ Walden-Smith after he approached a witness for Cambridgeshire Constabulary during the lunch break.

She said to him: “It is not acceptable. You are a journalist - you are not here to interrogate or intimidate. So I am disappointed in you and I am not going to accept it. Do not do it again. I will take it as an error of judgement.”

Mr Levant replied that he apologises and did not mean to be intimidating.

6. The judge didn't know where the Grain and Hop Store was

Early on there was a bit of back-and-forth about where the Grain and Hop Store was.

HHJ Walden-Smith said she knew Cambridge well but not the pub. Robinson had to mark it on a map.

Just to be clear, it's at 69 to 76 Regent Street, set back from the street down a little alley next to City Kebab. It's also got a door that opens directly onto Parker's Piece.

We'll be back tomorrow bringing you the latest from the court case as it unfolds.