News
Kate Plummer
Jul 22, 2021
Tommy Robinson has lost a libel case brought by a Syrian schoolboy and itâs safe to say people arenât too sympathetic to his âplightâ.
The anti-Islam activist â whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon â was sued by Jamal Hijazi who has been granted £100,000 in damages.
The situation started when Hijazi was assaulted in the playground at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, in October 2018. Shortly after a video of the incident went viral, Robinson claimed in two Facebook videos that Jamal was ânot innocent and he violently attacks young English girls in his schoolâ.
In the clips viewed by nearly 1m people, the founder of the English Defence League also claimed Hijazi âbeat a girl black and blueâ and âthreatened to stabâ another boy at his school, allegations the teenager denies.
Representing himself in court, he argued that his comments were substantially true, claiming to have âuncovered dozens of accounts of aggressive, abusive and deceitful behaviourâ by Hijazi, while Hijaziâs lawyers said Robinsonâs claims had had âa devastating effectâ on him and his family.
Mr Justice Nicklin said Robinson caused Hijazi to become âthe target of abuse which ultimately led to him and his family having to leave their home, and the claimant to have to abandon his education.
âThe defendant is responsible for this harm, some of the scars of which, particularly the impact on the claimantâs education, are likely last for many years, if not a lifetime.â
He added that Robinson used language âcalculated to inflame the situationâ.
âThe defendantâs contribution to this media frenzy was a deliberate effort to portray the claimant as being, far from an innocent victim, but in fact a violent aggressor,â he added.
Jamal Hijaziâs lawyer, Francesca Flood, added: âIt took great courage for our client, Jamal Hijazi, to pursue his libel action against such a prominent far-right and anti-Islam activist as Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson.
âWe are delighted that Jamal has been entirely vindicated.
âJamal and his family now wish to put this matter behind them in order that they can get on with their lives.
âThey do, however, wish to extend their gratitude to the great British public for their support and generosity, without which this legal action would not have been possible.â
Responding to the verdict, people celebrated.
Anti hate campaign group HOPE not Hate said:
Stephen Lennon's lies finally catch up with him. He's a criminal, a far right Islamophobic extremist, and now he's⦠https://t.co/IpSvooFpUaâ HOPE not hate (@HOPE not hate) 1626961427
SNP MP Tommy Sheppard added:
And now for some good news... Tommy Robinson ordered to pay £100,000 damages to Syrian schoolboy https://t.co/ny6JDbgMXd via @MetroUKâ Tommy Sheppard MP (@Tommy Sheppard MP) 1626961952
Meanwhile, journalists pointed out that Robinsonâs total court costs may be in the region of some £500,000.
When I spoke with one of Jamal's lawyers in March, she said they expected the total amount of damages and legal cos⦠https://t.co/i8JKh49GnNâ Jane Bradley (@Jane Bradley) 1626960252
And others celebrated and said that justice had been served:
The news can be pretty awful these days, but sometimes - just sometimes - Tommy Robinson is forced to donate six fi⦠https://t.co/Qo2sSNhaqVâ James Felton (@James Felton) 1626961281
Tommy Robinson has to pay £100,000 in damages to a refugee. *chefs kiss*â Northern Independence Party ð¨ð¥ (@Northern Independence Party ð¨ð¥) 1626961922
Good. Being a dick has consequences. https://t.co/FcFvQJlJpFâ Dr Benjamin Janaway (@Dr Benjamin Janaway) 1626960498
Stephen âTommy Robinsonâ Yaxley Lennon loses libel case. £100k compensation and costs https://t.co/4DEEIHfQXrâ Ant (@Ant) 1626963920
Words have consequences Donât they Mr Yaxley-Lennon? 100,000 of them https://t.co/SqPfiCkFUoâ nazir afzal (@nazir afzal) 1626963325
Responding to the verdict, Robinson posted a message to his followers on social media platform Telegram (heâs banned from all the mainstream sites) and joked:
âCan anyone lend me a few quid?â
A hearing will follow Thursdayâs judgment to consider the consequences of the ruling.
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