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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Mikey Smith & Oliver Milne

Tommy Robinson supporters flood Westminster after yob jailed

Supporters of jailed far-right extremist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon have descended on Westminster.

The group temporarily blocked Westminster Bridge near Parliament.

But they were kept away from the gates of Parliament by a heavy police presence.

The group chanted "whose streets” and “we want Tommy out”

They also chanted "Soubry is Nazi" a reference to MP the Change UK leader's clash with the far right earlier this year.

Tensions flared at the as the police had to step in after protesters attacked BBC broadcasters, breaking light stands on the ground.

The group walked back towards Parliament Square before turning off towards Westminster Abbey in the direction of the Attorney General's Office.

Outside the office protesters sat down, surrounded by police.

Angry supporters then chanted "paedo protectors" at the officers.

Yaxley-Lennon, who is also known as Tommy Robinson has been jailed for contempt of court over a video he broadcast on social media which featured defendants in a criminal trial.

The English Defence League (EDL) founder, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was handed a nine-month sentence at the Old Bailey on Thursday.

Angry supporters have since through London - arriving outside Parliament where they have blocked Westminster Bridge and protested outside the gates to the Houses of Parliament.

Tommy Robinson was jailed earlier (PA)

Dame Victoria Sharp told Robinson that the time he previously spent behind bars for the contempt will be taken into account, reducing his sentence to 19 weeks - of which he will serve half before being released.

Robinson, 36, of Luton, Bedfordshire, was found to have committed contempt of court on Friday, following a two-day High Court hearing held at the Old Bailey.

Dame Victoria and Mr Justice Warby found Robinson was in contempt in three respects when he filmed men accused of the sexual exploitation of young girls and live-streamed the footage on Facebook , in breach of a reporting ban, outside Leeds Crown Court in May 2018.

People protested outside the Old Bailey where the sentencing took place (Getty Images)

Giving reasons for the contempt finding on Tuesday, Dame Victoria said Robinson encouraged "vigilante action" in the video, which lasted an hour-and-a-half and was viewed online 250,000 times on the morning of the broadcast.

Throughout the Old Bailey hearing last Thursday and Friday, Robinson denied any wrongdoing, saying he did not believe he was breaching reporting restrictions and only referred to information that was already in the public domain.

But Dame Victoria and Mr Justice Warby found he was in contempt by breaching the reporting restriction imposed on the trial, by live-streaming the video from outside the public entrance to the court and by "aggressively confronting and filming" some of the defendants.

Robinson broadcast the footage while the jury in the second of a series of linked grooming trials was considering its verdict.

The video was eventually viewed 3.4 million times after being shared following his arrest.

A reporting restriction was in place which postponed the publication of any details of the case until the end of all the trials involving 29 people, in a bid to ensure all defendants received a fair trial.

Robinson was jailed for 13 months after being found in contempt of court on the day of the broadcast.

He served 10 weeks in jail before being freed after the original finding of contempt was overturned by the Court of Appeal in August 2018.

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