In a rare twist of poetic justice, Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has found himself cut off from the one thing that might have made his prison sentence truly unbearable: GB News. For many, this would be considered a punishment too far. But for Robinson? It’s arguably doing him a favour.
While the rest of us are free (and very occasionally unfortunate enough) to witness the corporate symphony of culture war grievances, overacted outrage, and whatever Nigel Farage is banging on about that week, Robinson sits in relative peace. No more monologues pretending to rail against “the establishment”, no more panels on how wokeness is destroying civilisation, no more interviews where he could see a version of himself reflected in the smirking faces of pundits who echo his brand of grievance politics.
Robinson may be behind bars, but in this regard, he’s freer than some poor sod stuck on a sofa with only GB News and a dwindling hope in humanity to keep them company. In fact, if anything highlights a two-tier criminal justice system, it’s that he’s been spared the nightly GB News lineup, while law-abiding citizens tragically remain exposed to it. Where’s our justice?
But while we can jest about his media diet, the Court of Appeal was less amused by his actual arguments. On Wednesday, Robinson lost his appeal against an 18-month prison sentence for contempt of court, following multiple breaches of a court order put in place after he libelled a Syrian refugee in 2021.
Back then, Robinson had falsely labelled the teenager a violent thug, a lie that led to a costly libel defeat. Undeterred, he repeated those claims, including at a public rally in Trafalgar Square, eventually admitting to ten breaches of the order.
In this latest appeal, his legal team argued that the conditions of his imprisonment – specifically his segregation from other inmates at HMP Woodhill – were damaging to his mental health. They also cited limitations on phone calls, DVD access, and yes, the inability to watch GB News, as examples of how his imprisonment was harsher than expected.
But the Court of Appeal, comprising Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, Lord Justice Edis, and Lord Justice Warby, weren’t having it. They ruled that the original sentencing judge had applied the law “meticulously” and found no reason to change the outcome. A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office said the sentence “reflected how gravely the court considers contempt”.
Robinson is due for release on licence in July, having served half of his sentence. Until then, he remains in a closed wing, separated for his own safety, with access to a laptop and phone but mercifully no GB News.
Perhaps the real justice here is not in the sentencing but in the small irony that Tommy Robinson, a man who has built his brand on constant media exposure, now finds himself missing out on the one broadcaster most aligned with his worldview. And perhaps the real punishment from his perspective is the silence. It’s funny how torture for the multitude is pleasure to the bigot.
