Robinson lost a libel case
Tommy Robinson has claimed he’s bankrupt after being ordered to pay a schoolboy £100,000 in damages. The far-right activist lost a libel case over allegations made about the teenager in question.
The English Defence League (EDL) founder – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – was successfully sued by Jamal Hijazi after making defamatory claims against the teenager on his Facebook page. Hijazi denied these allegations.
The High Court found that there was no substantive proof to any of Robinson’s claims and after a trial earlier this year, Mr Justice Nicklin ordered Yaxley-Lennon to pay the £100,000 in personal damages as well as legal costs understood to be around £500,000.
Speaking via video link, Robinson said he was “gobsmacked” by the ruling and the costs laid out by Mr Hijazi’s lawyers, which apparently included £70,000 for taking witness statements. Robinson chose to represent himself.
He went on to add: “I’ve not got any money. I’m bankrupt. I’ve struggled hugely with my own issues these last 12 months… I ain’t got it”, as well as insisting that he had “uncovered dozens of accounts of aggressive, abusive and deceitful behaviour.”
Nevertheless, Nicklin stated that “The defendant took on the burden of proving his allegations to be true. He has failed. In reality, and for the reasons I have explained, his evidence fell woefully short.”
The judge went on to argue that Tommy Robinson’s videos were “calculated to inflame the situation” and the young boy was subsequently targeted by racist and xenophobic abuse as a result.
While Mr Hijazi filed an injunction against Robinson, preventing him from repeating the allegations again, Robinson described the ruling as a “gagging order” and rounded out his appearance by stating that he had been commissioned to make a film about the incident.
