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Tommy Robinson has handed himself into a police station – and has since been charged under a terrorism offence.
His official name, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, has been charged with failing to provide the PIN to his mobile phone under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act.
He turned up outside Folkestone police station, in Kent, and has since been bailed to appear in court next month, Kent Police said.
Robinson was arrested in July at the Port of Dover under accusations of “frustration” of police counter-terrorism powers. The far-right activist said he refused the police’s request for the password to his phone.
The Times reports that Robinson has spent much of his time in the Algarve, Portugal, in recent months. He left the UK on July 28, a day before he was due in the High Court for contempt of court proceedings.
Robinson had repeated libellous claims he made about a Syrian refugee schoolboy who was filmed being attacked at a school. He lost the case in 2021 and was ordered to pay £100,000 in damages.
Speaking about the allegations against him in a social media video on Thursday, Robinson said: “It goes totally against my principles and values to do that.
“Am I guilty of sharing that information with you? Yes, I am. Am I guilty of repeating those allegations in interviews? Yes, I am. Am I sorry for that? No, I’m not.
“I face 100% certain imprisonment on multiple charges. I could go in, looking at this case, and say ‘no, I didn’t do that’ and try and argue certain aspects… I don’t want to.”
Robinson has denied calling for any violent action. Robinson also left the UK days before riots erupted across the country in the aftermath of the Southport stabbings, where suspect Axel Rudakubana killed three young schoolgirls.
Robinson’s supporters will march from Victoria station to the southern end of Whitehall on Saturday. Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Rachel Williams is leading the police operation on the day.
The Metropolitan Police says the march has been organised on behalf of Robinson by Uniting the Kingdom.
She said: “We are well prepared for what is set to be a busy day in the centre of London. Our role is to ensure that those attending the various events can do so safely and that they can exercise their right to lawful protest.
“We will have significant resources in place to respond to any incidents, to deal decisively with any offences, and to keep disruption to other members of the public and businesses to a minimum.
“We know that when groups with opposing views come together it can lead to conflict and disorder, and a key part of our role is ensuring that does not happen.
“We have used Public Order Act conditions to ensure that those involved stick to routes and assembly areas that are sufficiently far apart.
“Officers will be monitoring closely to ensure that conditions are adhered to.”
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