Tommy Robinson has been found not guilty of a terror offence after refusing to give police access to his phone when they stopped him at the Channel Tunnel last year.
Robinson, 42, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was heading to the Spanish tourist hotspot of Benidorm when officers detained him in Folkestone in July 2024.
During a two-day trial last month, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard police became “suspicious” and “concerned” about the far-right activist’s “demeanour”.
The former English Defence League (EDL) leader, who was driving a silver Bentley Bentayga SUV, gave “vague replies” about what he was doing and “made no eye contact” with officers.
They demanded access to his iPhone under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act, which gives police the power to stop anyone passing through a UK port “to determine whether they may be involved or concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”.
On Tuesday, district judge Sam Goozee found Robinson not guilty of failing to comply with the counter-terrorism powers.
Robinson, who denied failing to comply with the counter-terrorism powers, refused, saying “it’s my work, I’m a journalist,” before adding that the phone held information about “vulnerable girls”.
Speeding motorcyclist jailed for killing 86-year-old man on pedestrian crossing
Woman shot by husband on Valentine’s Day after trying to escape relationship
Three men jailed for drugging and raping 12-year-old girl in Kent
Officers, who recognised him, led him to an interview room and seized his phone, the court heard.
Asked to hand over the phone’s PIN, Robinson replied: “Not a chance, bruv”.
Under the Act, someone can be held for up to six hours, is legally obliged to answer questions and can be held to have committed a criminal offence if they refuse to provide the password or PIN for electronic devices.
As they made their way to the room, he tried to film a video of himself saying he had been arrested, and was told by officers to “relax”, the trial was told.
During the trial, Robinson said in a video posted on X that Elon Musk had “picked up the legal bill” for “this absolute state persecution”.
The campaigner had more than £13,000 and €1,900 on him when he was stopped and was travelling in a high-value car that was not registered under his name, the trial heard.
He had also booked his tickets to travel on the day.
Alisdair Williamson KC, defending, said the stop and detention was unlawful because officers had taken a “discriminatory stance” based on their knowledge of Robinson’s views.
He said their intervention was discriminatory because it was based to a “significant degree on a protected characteristic”.
He said the “predominant influence” on PC Mitchell Thorogood’s decision to stop him was “‘oh look, it’s Tommy Robinson'”.
Mr Williamson said: “If MI5 didn’t think that Mr Lennon is a terrorist, what did Pc Thorogood think he was going to learn by asking him about publicly available information?”
Robinson often went to Benidorm, making the trip less suspicious, he said, and there was “no evidence that the stop was carried out diligently or expeditiously”, and that it was a “fishing expedition” as there was nothing to link Robinson to terrorism.
