Police who stopped Tommy Robinson ‘had reasonable suspicion’ of far-right links | UK news

Prosecutors said police officers who stopped Tommy Robinson as he tried to leave England last year had a reasonable suspicion that his phone contained information about terrorist acts.

The far-right activist, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, refused to give the password to his phone to police after they stopped him in the Channel tunnel on July 28, 2024, on the grounds that he had “journalistic material” on him.

On the final day of the trial, prosecutor Jo Morris said the counter-terrorism powers used by police to stop Robinson existed to allow intelligence gathering and that police had reasonable suspicions that he had links to far-right activists even after the dissolution of the English Defense League (EDL).

“Although his membership of the EDL has ceased, his views have not disappeared. He is known to have those views and so it is a reasonable suspicion that he may have had information about terrorist acts on his phone,” he told Westminster magistrates’ court.

“His entitled beliefs were not subject to their scrutiny. [referring to the police] July 28 concern. “This was his connection to others who were potentially involved in prohibited activities,” he said.

The hearing was held on Monday; The activist had arrived at the Channel tunnel alone in a silver Bentley belonging to a friend and headed for the Spanish resort of Benidorm with more than £13,000 in a small bag.

The money was said to have come from a collection raised to cover the costs of a large rally held in Trafalgar Square the previous day.

Robinson, who denies failing to comply with counter-terrorism powers during the incident on July 28 last year, faces up to three months in prison or a possible £2,500 fine if convicted.

His lawyer, Alisdair Williamson KC, said in his closing statement on Tuesday that the counter-terrorism police who stopped Robinson were on a “fishing expedition” and that he was unlawfully detained.

Citing evidence from police who said they called “partner agencies” after detaining Robinson, Williamson said this was a reference to intelligence agencies and that no evidence had been presented from MI5 that his client was a terrorist.

Williamson said the officers’ intervention was “discriminatory” because it was based on a “significantly protected characteristic”. He said the “overriding influence” in his decision to stop him was “‘oh look, it’s Tommy Robinson’.”

Police officers used “extraordinary authority that must be properly supervised” to try to find information that was already known, the official said. Williamson suggested that Robinson traveled to Benidorm regularly, which should have reduced officers’ suspicions about him.

Robinson claimed on Monday that his legal costs in the case were paid by X and Tesla owner Elon Musk, who has emerged as an ally of the far-right activist and recently spoke at a livestreamed rally in London.

The proposed date for next Tuesday for the verdict was changed by district judge Sam Goozee after Williamson said Robinson would be a guest of the Israeli government from tomorrow and would not return until October 25.

“If this were a trip to Benidorm I wouldn’t bother you. I would ask him to rearrange the trip but he is a guest of a foreign government,” Williamson said.

Goozee said it would announce its decision on the morning of November 4.