Tommy Robinson loses High Court challenge over prison segregation
Reach Daily Express March 22, 2025 08:39 AM

Tommy Robinson has lost a bid to bring a High Court challenge against the Government over his segregation in prison.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is serving an 18-month prison sentence for the civil offence of contempt of court after breaching an injunction.

On Thursday, his barristers told the High Court that he should be allowed to bring a legal challenge over his imprisonment at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes.

The court in London was told on Thursday that he had been kept segregated from other prisoners since November last year which had caused an "evident decline" in his mental health.

The Ministry of Justice opposed the bid, with its lawyers stating that Robinson was isolated following threats to his safety, including that he would be assaulted by other prisoners for "kudos".

In a ruling on Friday, Mr Justice Chamberlain dismissed Robinson's bid, stating his case was "not arguable".

Robinson was jailed in October last year by Mr Justice Johnson, after admitting 10 breaches of a High Court order made in 2021.

The order barred him from repeating libellous allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him.

In written submissions for the hearing, Tom Cross, for the MoJ, said that after being sentenced in October last year, Robinson was admitted to HMP Belmarsh, but "on his first day he stated he had a conflict with followers of Islam".

He was moved to HMP Woodhill on November 1 but was moved to a "closed wing which cannot be accessed by other prisoners" after the prison received intelligence over threats to his safety.

Mr Cross said: "HMP Woodhill received several intelligence reports showing a non-speculative risk to the claimant, including that two other prisoners at HMP Woodhill were plotting to assault the claimant to gain kudos and notoriety, and that the claimant had a 'mark on his head' and would be killed by a lifer if located on a wing."

Mr Cross said that Robinson remained on the "closed wing" but that "this is ultimately an interim position" until he can be moved to a different wing, which is undergoing repairs.

In his ruling, Mr Justice Chamberlain said that Robinson is due to be released from HMP Woodhill on July 26, the halfway point of his sentence, and is also facing trial for both an offence under section 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and a breach of a stalking order.

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