Rape gang whistleblower and independent journalist Tommy Robinson will walk free within days, after High Court judges cut four months off his jail term for contempt of court.
The controversial figure, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had been serving an 18-month sentence over a civil case linked to a video he refused to take down, until now.
The decision paves the way for his imminent release, after the film Silenced, in which Robinson claimed to expose truths hidden by authorities, was removed from his social media.
Robinson, who has written books, made documentaries, and for years raised alarm over grooming gangs in Britain, was targeted under a legal injunction that barred him from repeating libellous claims about Syrian refugee Jamal Hijazi.
He had refused to back down, insisting the public had a right to hear what he had uncovered.
But in a courtroom twist, Mr Justice Johnson accepted that Robinson had now shown a “change in attitude”, even if there was no “contrition or remorse”. His lawyers argued he had shown a “commitment” to comply with the order, and the judge agreed to reduce the “coercive” portion of his sentence.
“He has given an assurance that he will comply with the injunction in the future, that he has no intention of breaching it again,” the judge said.
Robinson, 41, had been imprisoned since October for 10 breaches of the court order, including screening Silenced in public and keeping it pinned to the top of his X profile.
His release now marks the end of one of the most high-profile contempt cases in recent memory, a saga that has stirred major concerns about freedom of speech in Britain under the new Labour government.
‘ASSAULT ON THE PRESS’
Critics argue that the case highlights a dangerous precedent for press freedom, especially when Robinson’s original investigations into grooming gangs in towns like Rotherham and Telford exposed serious police and council failings.
One supporter told The Post:
“Tommy Robinson is a journalist — and whether you agree with his views or not, jailing him for what he says and publishes is a line Britain should never cross. He should be seen as a hero for raising issues others were too scared to touch.”
Robinson has long claimed the injunction was part of a wider effort to silence him, and that Labour’s Britain has become increasingly intolerant of dissenting views.
After his jailing, he lost legal bids to fight his segregation in prison and to overturn the sentence. But Tuesday’s ruling finally gave him a route out, once he agreed to comply with the original order.
Though judges insisted the sentence was not about politics, many believe Labour-era censorship laws and political pressure played a role in muzzling voices like Robinson’s, raising serious questions about where the line lies between enforcing the law and gagging the press.
BACKGROUND TO THE CASE
The injunction at the heart of the case was granted in 2021 after Robinson was sued for libel by Jamal Hijazi, who was filmed being assaulted at school in Huddersfield in 2018. Robinson claimed online that the boy had previously attacked girls, allegations said to be untrue in court.
Robinson was ordered to pay £100,000 in damages plus legal costs and barred from repeating the claims. But he continued to share and screen his documentary Silenced, triggering the contempt action.
He will now be released once the 14-month punitive portion of his sentence is completed, expected within a week.
He gave no immediate reaction when the judgment was delivered via video link from HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes.
