Tommy Robinson loses appeal over prison sentence

I expected this. The authorities have an agenda. From the Telegraph

Tommy Robinson has lost an appeal against his 18-month sentence for contempt of court at the Court of Appeal.

Robinson was jailed last year after admitting multiple breaches of a High Court order made in 2021, which barred him from repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him for libel.

The 42 year-old, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, launched his appeal against the sentence on Friday.

In a ruling on Wednesday, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, Lord Justice Edis and Lord Justice Warby dismissed the appeal.

They wrote: “The judge’s application of the law and his reasoning on the appropriate sanction in this case both exhibit a meticulous approach.”

The decision was Robinson’s second court defeat in less than a month, after an attempt to bring a legal challenge against the Government over his segregation at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes was thrown out at the High Court.

It means he is still set to be released from custody on July 26.

Handing down the sentence in October, Mr Justice Johnson said “nobody is above the law”, and described Robinson’s breaches of the injunction as “flagrant”. The judge said Robinson could reduce his sentence by four months if he took certain steps to “purge” his contempt, such as removing the film from his social media pages.

In a 15-page ruling, Lady Carr, Lord Justice Edis and Lord Justice Warby said new evidence about Robinson’s mental health “does not on analysis show either a significant exacerbation of a known medical condition or a material new factor”. .  .They added that Robinson could “still reduce the period he has to spend in custody by taking the steps identified” by Mr Justice Johnson.

Following the ruling on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office said: “Stephen Yaxley-Lennon repeatedly ignored judges’ orders and continued to spread libellous allegations.

“His 18-month sentence reflected how gravely the court considers contempt. We respect the court’s decision to refuse permission to appeal the sentence imposed.”