Good morning from the Court of Appeal. I’m here for the judgement in the Tommy Robinson case aka Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. He’s serving 13 months for Contempt of Court.
He’s appealed his admission of the Contempt on a technicality and the sentence as too harsh. It’s a complicated story and there’s a lot of totally inaccurate reporting on social media. So here are the facts:
He has admitted two incidences of Contempt of Court - meanint he admitted to actions that could have derailed fair trials and the duty if juries to reach their verdicts without being potentially influenced.
The first was in Canterbury last year. The second in Leeds in May. The judges in both cases said his reports on social media and actions at court were potentially prejudicial. Here’s me and colleagues explaining what it’s all about bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-445…
Yaxley-Lennon/Robinson’s supporters say he’s been muzzled - it’s a free speech issue. It’s actually about British law that’s designed to ensure everyone has a fair trial. And that sometimes means reporting restrictions are temporarily imposed to prevent a jury being influenced
