A jury at Southwark Crown Court in London has found far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, guilty on two counts of harassment against Daily Mail and MailOnline journalists Andrew Young and Jacob Dirnhuber. Robinson is 43 years old.
The case stemmed from reports published in August 2024 revealing that Robinson had been holidaying in Cyprus while riots broke out across England following the murders of three young girls in Southport. The articles prompted Robinson to take retaliatory action against the journalists who wrote them.
Evidence presented in court showed that Robinson hired private investigators to track down the home addresses of the two journalists and made threatening posts on social media. Young was forced to hire personal security, while Dirnhuber was compelled to move out of his home due to the threats he received.
Robinson denied the charges during the trial, claiming he had acted out of fear after his family's location was disclosed in the media reports.
Frank Ferguson, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service's Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said after the verdict that Robinson had weaponised social media and subjected the two journalists to a systematic campaign of harassment that left them in serious fear of violence.
In England, harassment causing fear of violence carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, rising to 14 years if the offence is aggravated by racial or religious motivation. Sentencing is scheduled for 16 December, and Robinson has been released on bail until that date.
