Far-Right activist Tommy Robinson today denied refusing to leave a march against anti-Semitism.
The English Defence League founder, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley Lennon, is accused of failing to comply with a direction to leave an area in Westminster on November 26 of last year.
Robinson was arrested near the Royal Courts of Justice in London, where the demonstration began, after organisers said he would not be welcome at the event.
He appeared in court wearing a blue shirt and dark grey waistcoat. Robinson denied the charge of one count of failing to comply with a dispersal order.
Alistair Williamson KC, defending, made an application to the court to prevent the publication of Robinson’s address. He said that his client had been subject to 12 police visits where he was warned of threats to his life, known as Osman warnings.
Tommy Robinson, 41, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Courttoday charged with failing to comply with an exclusion order
Robinson attending court today has claimed he was attending the demo – the biggest protest against anti-Semitism in London since 1936 – as a ‘journalist’
Tristan Kirk, a journalist from the Evening Standard, opposed the application on behalf of the press. He referred to the principle of open justice, and noted that the application had been made at the last minute, with little time for the press to prepare.
Judge Briony Clark refused the application.
Asked to give his address to the court, Robinson said that he had no fixed address.
Bail conditions that prevent Robinson from entering within the M25, or attending or organising a protest within London, remain in place.
He will next appear at City of London Magistrate’s Court for trial on April 22.
During his arrest, officers sprayed Robinson with synthetic pepper spray and handcuffed him.
He uploaded a video of himself with partially closed eyes to social media after the confrontation.
Other footage of him arguing with police officers was also posted on his Twitter/X account, with Robinson claiming to be present as a journalist at the march.
Robinson (centre) being led away by police officers at the demonstration in London on November 26
Wearing a blue shirt and a black waistcoat in court today, Robinson spoke to confirm his identity and denied breaching a section 35 direction excluding him from an area
Robinson’s defence team made an application to the court to prevent the publication of his address – which was refused