Court hears Tommy Robinson hired private investigators to track down journalists

Summary

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, told his harassment trial that he used private investigators to track down journalists who had written about his alleged role in the 2024 riots, and had photos of their homes taken 'to put pressure' on them. He denied in court that his actions, which included sharing photos of the wife and daughter of one journalist, were designed to intimidate or bully. The BBC reports that a court was told he hired private detectives to find journalists while he is on trial accused of harassing Daily Mail journalists, and that he was seen crying in court.

Timeline

1. BBC

   22 Oct 2026, 14:53 UTCSource ↗

   The BBC reports that a court was told Tommy Robinson hired private detectives to find journalists while he is on trial accused of harassing Daily Mail journalists, and that he cried in court.

2. The Guardian

   22 Oct 2026, 17:23 UTCSource ↗

   The Guardian reports that Robinson told his harassment trial he used private investigators to track down journalists who wrote about his alleged role in the 2024 riots, had photos of their homes taken 'to put pressure' on them, and denied trying to intimidate them.