Tommy Robinson fined £900 for failing to turn up to court after losing libel case

Tommy Robinson has been fined £900 for failing to turn up to court to be questioned about his finances. The 39-year-old, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, lost a libel case brought against him by a Syrian teenager last year.

The English Defence League founder was supposed to appear at a High Court hearing in March over an unpaid legal bill following the case. However, he failed to attend and was summonsed to court to face contempt proceedings in April.

Schoolboy Jamal Hijazi successfully sued Yaxley-Lennon after he was assaulted at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, in October 2018. After the incident went viral, Yaxley-Lennon made false claims about Mr Hijazi, including that he had attacked girls in his school, which led to the libel case.

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Following a pre-trial hearing in November 2020, Yaxley-Lennon was ordered to pay more than £43,000 in legal costs. Earlier this year, Mr Hijazi’s lawyers successfully applied for an order requiring Robinson to return to court to answer questions about his finances on March 22, but he did not show up.

On Monday, August 1, Yaxley-Lennon was handed a £900 penalty after admitting being in contempt of court. At the hearing, Mr Justice Nicklin told the court that he could be liable to serve 28 days in prison if he fails to pay the fine within 14 days.

The High Court was previously told that Robinson had been facing mental health issues at the time of the March hearing, which he claimed were a result of being harassed. However, Mr Justice Nicklin said: “Whatever psychiatric issues Mr Lennon had, they did not prevent him from coming to the hearing that he failed to