The far-right leader Tommy Robinson has been charged under the Terrorism Act and is being held in custody before a planned march of his supporters amid fears of a repeat of violence that erupted when he was imprisoned in 2018.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, handed himself in to Folkestone police station on Friday afternoon where he was charged with failing to provide the pin to his mobile phone under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act. He was bailed to appear in court next month, Kent police said. He was then remanded in custody under a high court direction, the force said.
What prompted that high court direction? That the march is this weekend? Nope, I’ve no idea what’s going on here at all but preventative detention isn’t a good look, is it?
TTK is seizing his only chance and another election seems unlikely…
Tommy’s supporters are saying it’s over his refusal to divulge the access code to his phone. This is illegal, but was meant to deal with a “ticking bomb” scenario.
If I had to guess what they were up to, it would be to enrage his football lads enough to kick off at today’s march in London, thereby triggering a further level of repression. “Far Right!! Far Right!! They’re everywhere!”
The ‘far left’ will ensure that it will kick off whether TR is there or not, and then blame the far right for the violence. As they always do.
I would suspect somebody’s playing a little game here. TR comes over as a clever lad. And as such, will have nothing on his fone that’s compromising. Policy I’ve always pursued. Never have anything on a fone you wouldn’t want someone else to see.
It’s for contempt of court, you might not agree with the original order but just same as Just Stop Oil protesters.
Didn’t he leave the country the last time he was due in court? Perhaps they want to make sure he actually turns up this time.
I also find it weird that every article about him goes “Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon”. I thought in the UK that whatever you’re commonly known as is your “real name”.
@ BiND
But what was the contempt of court order about? Wasn’t the state trying to fuck him over when he reported what had been said about a Syrian boy in Huddersfield?
Note, Tommy reported what he’d been told. The judge decided that the hearsay evidence from other pupils wasn’t reliable (nor the internal school reports) as per paragraph 55 to 148 in https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Hijazi-v-Yaxley-Lennon-judgment-220721.pdf
Further, he decided that the single Syrian boys account was more believable than the other 5 witness accounts. That is possible, but might indicate some bias against the defendant.
So, in reporting what others had said, Tommy got sued for libel and lost. Should it have got to that stage? Probably not, but then Tommy would have to have known that the witnesses were being untruthful and what he reported was false.
I’m sure there is also some part of Tommy wanting the state to push things to demonstrate their overreach, but how else can you effect change. He has the balls to put himself in harms way to make things better for all of us.
What if you have contempt for nonce judges in general?
After the jailing of that poor, silly, old sod who recently committed suicide, who would have respect for judges as a class? The old fella was in poor health, had no previous criminal convictions and had committed no violence. He shouted a bit and help up a placard. So he was two-tiered to jail by Judge Jeremy Richardson for two years and eight months.
Does KC now stand for Kier’s Cnuts?
Interesting explanation of the legal position here: –
https://youtu.be/ZBW7WR8VEwA?si=F625Ef6bwBIbX4hE
James:
I also find it weird that every article about him goes “Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon”.
I was going to comment on the same thing. Does any news report use the phrasing, “Banksy, whose real name is…”?
Yeah it’s strange how no news reports say – trans activist Sally Peaches (real name Mike “Blackbeard” Jones)
PiP – there was a feminist lady on X who pointed out how many of the noncediciary who were handing down years in prison for racist emojis and the like have recent form for going softly softly on convicted paedophiles.
She was threatened by the “British” police for reporting on judicial decisions.
Steve: Judge Jeremy Richardson KC gets a plug here for his community-minded activities. It’s to his credit – so many people nowadays avoid doing their bit.
https://www.innertemple.org.uk/who-we-are/how-we-operate/equality-diversity-and-inclusivity/lgbtq-society/
Good spot, Mr Womby. I find the casual use of “terrorism” offenses, which enables the use of harsher laws than dealing with ordinary criminals, like Huw Edwards, worryingly similar to the US Democrats tactics with people they don’t like such as Tulsi Gabbard. I can’t think why I’ve paid for 100 Labour activists to go to the USA to have a jolly at my expense to be nasty colonialists in re-enactment of 1771…
One could argue that since Tommy Robinson is prefers to be called by, that is his “real name”. Something my lawyer once explained to me. You can call yourself anything you want to. In English law, your name belongs to you, so you can do anything you like with it The Deed Poll thing is just a method of regularising official documentation. The exception would be if you changed your name to deceive or defraud etc. Since there doesn’t seem to be evidence to the affirmative on that, he should, by rights, be referred to as TR.
PiP – I think I’ve cracked the code these people use:
OBE = Order of the Bumhole Expanders
CBE = Commander, Boyflesh Explorers
CMG = Call Me Gary Glitter
etc.
The Paedolph Isles.
If Peter Lynch committed suicide it happened remarkably early into his sentence.
What might have transpired between him and other inmates, many of whom might have quite strong views about white Englishmen – particularly defenceless 60 years olds.
John – the authorities have form for feeding white victims to Muslim prison gangs.
They did nothing to stop British children being drugged, beaten and raped, so idk why anybody would expect justice from a British court.
Tommy seems to have a bit of a martyr complex. Anyone else would have dropped the phone into the Channel. (Following the example of a widely reported case a couple of years ago.)
Guido suggests timing might be something to do with the Southport stabber being up in court:
https://order-order.com/2024/10/25/southport-suspects-case-delayed/
philip:
The problem with dropping it in the water is you may then destroy the evidence that there actually wasn’t anything on the phone.
Given the ease these days that phones can be remotely wiped I’m surprised no one has come up with a dual password system, one for normal use and the second that wipes the phone if used.
I’m somewhat surprised that someone in the authorities gimlet eye like TR doesn’t have a VPN set up with all contacts he doesn’t want known stored remotely under a complex password.
I’m sure I’ve read that the likes of “Above phone” can be set up like that
As I said above, I think TR’s cute enough not to have anything compromising on his fone. But he’ll be rubbing his hands with glee to be arrested on a “terrorism offence”. Like a gift from heaven, that one. Just makes the filth look even stupider than they are.
Am I to believe that any time they want they can make up a terrorism charge based on no actual terror event and use that to interrogate me without any right to silence and go fishing in all my stuff looking for crimes? What’s my redress? Can I contest the charge before the interrogation?
All these questions are of course rhetorical.
The rules – like insisting on the PIN – are different if you’re at a port….
@Simon Neale – “This is illegal, but was meant to deal with a “ticking bomb” scenario.”
It was perfectly obvious when the legislation was being drawn up that it owuld be used like this. Anyone who believes politicians who say that, despite the explicit wording in an Act, it won’t be used in certain cases is hopelessly naive.
The reason the press used his real name is because that what was used in the court documents. If they hadn’t we can bet that someone would have done a search and concluded that TR hadn’t been charged and it was all a conspiracy.
There doesn’t appear to be any evidence that he changed his name by Deed Poll which is probably why they used his real name.
Further to bis’s comments about using any name you like, according to a solicitor friend you can also use any title you like as long as you don’t use it with the purpose of deception.
On the subject of titles should NHS nurses be addressed as Roly-poly?
On the basis that as the BBC hasn’t plastered “Far-right violence erupts at demonstration in London” all over its front-pages, can one assume that yesterday’s “TR-less” exercise went off peacefully?