Tommy Robinson, whose full name is Stephen Lennon, has been found guilty of harassing two journalists and making them fear violence. The 43-year-old far-right activist was convicted at Southwark Crown Court after a jury deliberated for 11 hours and 25 minutes. By a majority of 10 to 2, the panel found him guilty on both charges of harassment causing fear of violence.
Prosecutors described Robinson as a bully. Freelance reporter Andrew Young and Daily Mail editor Jacob Dirnhuber both felt so threatened that one left his home while the other hired extra security. The case began after the Daily Mail and MailOnline published a story about Robinson stoking unrest from a sunbed in Cyprus during the August 2024 riots that followed the murders of three girls in Southport.
Robinson responded with a series of angry posts on X. He criticised Young and Dirnhuber for their roles in the article. He then hired private investigators to track down the home addresses of the two journalists and even the editor-in-chief of the Daily Mail, Ted Verity. Photographs of Dirnhuber outside his house and cropped pictures of Young’s family later appeared online. In a phone call on 5 August 2024, Robinson told Young, “I’m coming to get you.” He also left a voicemail for Verity saying he had already located every one of them.
The jury rejected Robinson’s claim that the newspaper had put his own family in danger. He became emotional in the witness box while talking about his children. Young was given a close protection officer by the Daily Mail after the family photos appeared. Dirnhuber moved house, and another Daily Mail correspondent also left his family home out of fear.
Before the trial, Robinson publicly thanked Tesla owner Elon Musk for paying his legal fees. He was granted bail and will be sentenced on 16 December.
The conviction marks another serious legal setback for the activist, who has a long history of making false claims against Muslims and Pakistanis. Court officials said the harassment was deliberate and designed to intimidate.
