Tommy Robinson tells court he had photos taken of journalists' homes to pressure them

British far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has told his harassment trial at Southwark crown court in London that he used private investigators to find journalists who had written about his alleged role in the 2024 riots, and had their homes photographed "to put pressure" on them. The case turns on whether his conduct towards members of the press amounted to harassment.

The charges

Robinson, 43, faces two counts of harassment causing fear of violence. The alleged victims are Andrew Young and Jacob Dirnhuber, journalists at MailOnline, the website of the Daily Mail, and the events date from 2024. He denies the charges.

In court he rejected the suggestion that his actions, which included sharing photos of one journalist's wife and daughter, were meant to intimidate or bully. "I'm not coming to beat [them] up … they know that," he said.

Thursday's evidence

Robinson said he felt it was "totally reasonable" to publish a photo of Dirnhuber at his home because he was "in a race against time" to get the Mail to remove a photo of his ex-wife. The paper had published it in a story about his stay in Cyprus, headlined "Stoking race riots from his sunbed". He conceded, however, that in his messages to the journalists, a phone call with one of them and a voicemail for the Mail's editor-in-chief, Ted Verity, he had not asked for the image to be taken down. In the voicemail he said he would make Verity and his family famous; Robinson described himself as "restrained".

Prosecutor Ben Holt noted that Dirnhuber and his partner had to leave their home after threatening emails, and that Young's family had also considered leaving theirs. Robinson replied that he wished it had not happened and that he had been panicked.

He was also questioned about messages from other people on X after he began posting about the journalists from his own account. One user had said he would beat Dirnhuber up. Robinson said he did not agree with such messages and did not know who sent them.

Background

In early August 2024, as violence broke out across England after the murder of three girls in Southport, Robinson was in Cyprus with his ex-wife, his three children and other families. He denied in the witness stand that he had stoked the riots. The trial continues.