Tommy Robinson is challenging his sentence for contempt of court on compassionate grounds, claiming his segregation in prison means he can’t “regulate his emotions”.
The 42-year-old was jailed for 18 months in October last year after admitting 10 breaches of a High Court order made in 2021 that banned him from repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him for libel.
A film called Silenced, containing the libellous allegations, was pinned to the top of Robinson’s profile on X and shown at a demonstration in Trafalgar Square, while he also repeated the claims in interviews.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was told his sentence would be shortened by four months if he “purged” the contempt by removing the claims from his social media accounts.
His lawyer Alisdair Williamson KC told the Court of Appeal that Robinson has suffered an “evident decline in his mental health” after being held in segregation at Woodhill prison in Milton Keynes.
“He is being kept safe by the authorities in segregation, but being kept safe is making him ill,” he said.
The court heard Robinson is suffering from complex PTSD and has been diagnosed with ADHD, and his barrister said his prison conditions mean he can’t “regulate his emotions”.
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The court heard his phone contact has been restricted “because of the way he conducted himself on the telephone” on two occasions.
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Aidan Eardley KC, for the Solicitor General, said it is “in his gift” for Robinson to shorten his own sentence, meaning he would be released at the end of May, by removing the film from social media and preventing its dissemination.
But he said Robinson “remains defiantly in breach” of the order with further publication of his film occurring “every time it is viewed” and is asking for an “indulgence”.
Robinson previously lost a bid to bring a High Court challenge over his segregation after intelligence suggested he “would be killed by a lifer if located on a wing”.
The court heard details of his privileges, including hundreds of emails, dozens of visits and 1,250 phone calls.
The Court of Appeal on Friday was told he orders his daily meals on a laptop and has a television “but complains he can’t watch GB News on it”.
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Robinson twice held up a sign to the camera, which said a statement from the governor of HMP Woodhill was “lies”.
The judges Lord Justice Edis, Baroness Carr and Lord Justice Warby reserved judgment, which will be delivered on a date to be fixed.
Robinson is due to be released on 26 July.
