Far-right activist Tommy Robinson found guilty of harassing journalists

Topic:CourtsPosted Thu 29 Oct 2026 at 4:39amThu 29 Oct 2026 at 4:39amStephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, has been found guilty of harassing two journalists. (Reuters: Toby Shepheard)In short: Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, was charged with two counts of harassment causing fear of violence, relating to messages and calls to two Daily Mail journalists in 2024.Robinson claimed he had only intended to put pressure on the journalists involved in a story accusing him of "stoking race riots" after the Southport murders. He was found guilty by a 10-2 majority, and released on bail ahead of his sentencing. British far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, has been convicted of harassing two journalists during nationwide rioting two years ago. Robinson said before his trial began that billionaire X owner Elon Musk, who often reposts Robinson and allowed him to return to the social media platform, was supporting his defence.Mr Musk also last year paid for Robinson's defence when he was charged with failing to provide his phone PIN to police, for which he was cleared by a judge, and Mr Musk virtually attended a rally in London organised by Robinson last year.Robinson – who stood trial at London's Southwark Crown Court under the name Stephen Lennon – was charged with two counts of harassment causing fear of violence, relating to messages and calls to two Daily Mail journalists in 2024.After three young girls were murdered in the northern town of Southport that July, Robinson repeatedly posted about the killings as riots spread across Britain.Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, is an influential figure of the British far-right. (Reuters: Chris J Ratcliffe)The Daily Mail tracked Robinson down to Cyprus, where he was on holiday with his family, and published a story which accused him of "stoking race riots from his sunbed".Robinson repeatedly contacted two journalists involved in the story, posted several messages about them on X and said he had photos of their home address and family.Robinson claimed he had only intended to put pressure on the journalists and the Daily Mail to remove a picture of his ex-wife from their website.But he was found guilty by a 10-2 majority on Wednesday and released on bail ahead of his sentencing in December.'Not acceptable'Following his conviction, a Met Police spokesperson said Robinson's conduct left the victims fearing for their safety. "There are legitimate and established routes that can be pursued by people who have concerns or complaints about their treatment by the media," the force said. "In this case, Lennon chose not to follow any of these and, instead, issued various threatening online posts in the knowledge that they would almost certainly lead to his followers to target and intimidate those journalists, which is exactly what happened. "This left them fearing for their own safety and that of their families – so much so that they felt compelled to take significant safety precautions including leaving their homes and hiring private security personnel."This kind of intimidatory behaviour is not acceptable, and anyone behaving in such a way to intimidate, harass and threaten others either online or in the real world can expect to be investigated and brought before the courts as was the case here."