Harassment Trial: 'We Do Not Live in a Vigilante World,' Prosecution Tells Jury as Robinson Denies Charges

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson is guilty of harassing two journalists because society does not run on vigilante rules, the prosecution told jurors in its closing speech. Robinson, however, denies the charges against him.

Robinson's real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. The 43-year-old faces two counts of harassment causing fear of violence in 2024, involving two Daily Mail journalists, Andrew Young and Jacob Dirnhuber.

The prosecution says that after the journalists wrote about Robinson's alleged role in influencing England's 2024 riots, he posted a video telling them he would find them. In the video he said he had obtained details of where they and their families lived and warned them.

Prosecutor Ben Holt told the jury it was time to get real and not live in a vigilante world where self-appointed rules apply. Robinson, he said, had threatened people and acted like a bully.

Holt added that Robinson had accepted that sharing images of the journalists' homes and partial photos of their loved ones was intended to exert pressure. The prosecution rejected Robinson's insistence that the journalists would not have feared violence as a result.

Robinson told the court he had panicked after the Mail effectively identified a hotel in Cyprus where he had gone with family and friends and published a photo of his ex-wife, which he said put her at risk.

Holt countered that Robinson never asked for the image to be taken down in his calls and messages to the journalists or the Daily Mail's editor. Instead, he said, Robinson simply threatened people, and he described remarks to the effect of 'you are coming for me, I am coming for you' as straightforward retaliation.

The prosecution said the journalists were so concerned that police had to be called on a number of occasions. Robinson had close to one million followers on X, and some of his posts drew unpleasant comments from supporters, the court heard.

For the defence, Alisdair Williamson KC told the jury Robinson's actions were justified because his fear was real. He said Robinson had in fact shown restraint, and that the journalists did not care about his concerns or the stress the article caused him.

Agreed facts read to the court before the closing speeches included that police had given Robinson four threat-to-life warning notices in 2018, 2019 and 2024, one of them shortly after the Daily Mail article.

The court also heard that in August 2024 a man named Omar Abdirizak posted a video online addressing Robinson with threatening remarks and making a rifle gesture. That background formed part of the defence's argument about real fear.

The case now awaits the jury's decision. For the prosecution it is a clear case of intimidating journalists; for the defence it is the reaction of a man trying to protect his family. Which account the jury accepts will decide the outcome.