London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 12, 2025

Tommy Robinson loses libel case brought by Syrian teenager, must hand over £100,000 in damages

Tommy Robinson loses libel case brought by Syrian teenager, must hand over £100,000 in damages

Right-wing activist Tommy Robinson has been ordered to pay £100,000 in damages to a Syrian teenager he publicly accused of attacking “young English girls in his school”.
In a High Court judgment on Thursday, Mr Justice Matthew Nicklin ordered Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, to pay the damages and cover 18-year-old Jamal Hijazi’s legal fees.

Hijazi was filmed being attacked in the playground at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield in October 2018. In videos posted on his Facebook page after the attack, Robinson claimed Hijazi was “not innocent, and he violently attacks young English girls in his school”, that he “beat a girl black and blue” and “threatened to stab" a male classmate.

Robinson, who defended himself in court, argued that he had “uncovered dozens of accounts of aggressive, abusive and deceitful behaviour” by Hijazi, but Nicklin ruled that evidence provided by Robinson “fell woefully short”.

Accompanying the videos he posted of the playground attack, Nicklin said Robinson had used “language calculated to inflame” and was “directly responsible” for harming Hijazi. “The defendant is responsible for this harm, some of the scars of which – particularly the impact on the claimant’s education – are likely to last for many years, if not a lifetime,” he said.

After the judgment was handed down, Robinson said he was “gobsmacked” and would be unable to cover the cost of damages. “I’ve not got any money. I’m bankrupt. I’ve struggled hugely with my own issues these last 12 months,” he said.

Once one of the most recognisable faces on the English right, Robinson has been cast into obscurity in recent years. He was jailed for contempt of court in 2019, after he filmed defendants in a grooming trial and streamed it live on Facebook, and was arrested last year for holding a rally in breach of coronavirus restrictions. He’s been banned from most social media platforms, and, with no media presence, has seen financial support from the US right dry up.

As of last summer, Robinson was attempting to move his family out of the UK, after an alleged arson attack on his wife’s property.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
×