Tommy Robinson has been given a nine-month prison sentence – of which he will serve about 10 weeks – after he was found guilty of contempt of court at an earlier hearing.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, broadcast reports that encouraged “vigilante action” and “unlawful physical” aggression against defendants in a sexual exploitation trial, according to the judges who found him guilty last week.

Supporters of the former leader of the far-right English Defence League reacted angrily on Thursday after news of the sentencing filtered through to crowds outside the Old Bailey, where police drew batons and donned riot helmets when bottles were hurled.

The crowd then marched to Parliament Square where police intervened after journalists were threatened and verbally abused, before some congregated near the offices of the attorney general, who had taken the application to have Robinson committed to prison.

A 50-year-old man was arrested outside Westminster Abbey for offences of affray alleged to have been committed outside the Old Bailey last Friday when Robinson was convicted. Two other men and two women were also arrested on Thursday in connection with alleged offences last week.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Supporters of Robinson outside the Houses of Parliament. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Reuters

Passing sentence on Thursday, Dame Victoria Sharp said of Robinson: “He has lied about a number of matters and sought to portray himself as the victim of unfairness and oppression.

“This does not increase his sentence, but it does mean that there can be no reduction for an admission of guilt, or for contrition or for remorse.”

Robinson, 36, from Luton in Bedfordshire, had denied breaching a reporting ban by livestreaming footage of defendants arriving at court. He insisted he had only referred to information already in the public domain.

After deduction for time served, the sentence will amount to 19 weeks, of which he will serve half before being released.

Robinson flashed a V for victory sign to the public gallery upon hearing the sentence, and later winked as he slung a bag over his shoulder and was led away by prison officers.

Profile Who is Tommy Robinson? Show Hide Born Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon in 1982, Luton-based Tommy Robinson was co-founder and leader of the English Defence League between 2009 and 2013. The EDL were described as the most significant far-right street movement in the UK since the National Front in the 1970s, staging a series of provocative marches in areas of the country with significant Muslim populations. Robinson had also been a member of the BNP. In 2013 Robinson left the EDL after a high profile BBC documentary "When Tommy Met Mo", which followed Robinson's relationship with Mo Ansar after the pair met while filming a debate about Islam on BBC One's The Big Questions. However, by October 2015 Robinson was once again campaigning against Islam, addressing a Pegida rally. He subsequently set up a British section of Pegida, whose name comes from the initials of the German phrase for "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West" Robinson was convicted of contempt of court in May 2017 for filming inside Canterbury Crown Court and given a suspended sentence. The sentence was put into effect after Robinson was arrested for live streaming outside Leeds Crown Court during the course of another trial. Robinson's case attracted high profile support from far-right figures including Steve Bannon and Geert Wilders. Donald Trump Jr retweeted Robinson's supporters campaigning for his release - Robinson himself was permanently banned from Twitter in March 2018. His supporters have also staged "Free Tommy" rallies, where there have been clashes with the police. In July 2019 he was given a nine-month jail sentence after he was found guilty of contempt of court for live streaming a video that according to the judge encouraged 'vigilante action' and 'unlawful physical' aggression against defendants in a sexual exploitation trial.

Robinson has previously been convicted for "using threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour" during a fight between Luton and Newport County football fans. He was imprisoned for 10 months for using somebody else's passport to enter the United States, and for mortgage fraud. Photograph: David Levene

He arrived outside the Old Bailey dressed in blue jeans and a black T-shirt bearing the words “convicted of journalism”, but was wearing a plain black one inside, where his barrister apologised for the defendant’s late arrival. Sharp, the lead judge, said: “Well, it’s not a very good start, is it?”

Passing sentence at the Old Bailey alongside Mr Justice Warby, Sharp told Robinson they were in no doubt the custody threshold had been passed and the judges had taken account of information including the impact of prison on his health and family.

She said an aggravating feature was his previous offending and referred to his 11 convictions including for offences of violence, public order, disobedience to court orders, and fraud.

Robinson was originally jailed for 13 months over the broadcast from Leeds on Facebook, but was released after two months following an appeal, before the case was referred back to the attorney general, Geoffrey Cox.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest There were protests outside the Old Bailey after sentencing. Photograph: Luke Dray/Getty Images

His sentence at the Old Bailey was made up of six months for the Leeds contempt plus three months for an earlier contempt committed at Canterbury crown court in 2017. He was told that the time he previously spent behind bars would be taken into account, reducing his sentence to 19 weeks, of which he will serve half. He has 28 days to appeal.

Aidan Eardley, the barrister for the attorney general, said that while cases of “strict liability” contempt had previously been dealt with by way of a fine rather than a jail term, these were typically cases involving media organisations rather than individuals.

Robinson’s barrister, Richard Furlong, said there had been no further incidences of contempt and asked the court to consider any actual harm caused by his client’s actions.

“Notwithstanding the seriousness of what has been found to be proven against him, in terms of actual harm to the trial of the criminal defendants in Leeds, there is no suggestion that the criminal defendants in Leeds did not have a fair trial, notwithstanding his conduct outside the court,” Furlong said.

The Society of Editors responded to Robinson‘s claim that he was “convicted of journalism”, describing it as a dangerous distortion of the truth.

“I am not aware that Robinson has any formal training as a journalist, and to claim his trial and sentencing is an attack on journalism itself is a farce,” said its executive director, Ian Murray. “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.”

Nick Lowles, the chief executive of the campaign group Hope Not Hate, said: “Stephen Lennon put at risk the trial of men accused of horrendous crimes with his livestreaming antics. He doesn’t care about the victims of grooming, he only cares about himself.”

Earlier this week, Robinson made an emotional appeal to the US president, Donald Trump, to grant him asylum, claiming he faced being killed in prison.

On Thursday, he was supported in court by the far-right commentator Katie Hopkins and Ezra Levant, the founder of Rebel Media, a Canadian far-right website.

Gerard Batten, the former Ukip leader who had taken on Robinson as an adviser before the party was wiped out in the European parliament elections in May, addressed the crowd outside, which police put at about 200 in number.

In a full decision of the high court, released on Tuesday, the judges had said they were entirely satisfied Robinson had actual knowledge at Leeds that there was an order in force restricting reporting of the trial.