Tommy Robinson cleared of terror-related offence over phone code refusal

Tommy Robinson has been cleared of a terror-related offence after being accused over a refusal to give police access to his phone during a border stop. A judge ruled that the stop was unlawful because it was based on what the far-right activist “stood for” and his beliefs, rather than suspicions of a connection to terrorism. Following his acquittal, Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, thanked the US tech billionaire Elon Musk, who he said had funded his legal costs in the case. Robinson, 42, was driving a silver Bentley Bentayga SUV on his way to the Spanish tourist hotspot of Benidorm when he was stopped by officers at the Channel tunnel in Folkestone on 28 July 2024, Westminster magistrates court heard previously. Police were suspicious of Robinson’s “vague replies” about what he was doing and demanded access to his iPhone under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act. The act gives police the power to stop anyone passing through a UK port “to determine whether they may be involved or concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”. Robinson refused to give police the pin for his phone because he said it had “journalistic material” on it, the court heard. He was acquitted on Tuesday after a two-day trial last month during which his barrister said the police had engaged in a “fishing expedition” and that there had been no evidence from MI5 to suggest Robinson was a terrorist. In his ruling, District Judge Sam Goozee told Robinson: “I cannot put out of my mind that it was actually what you stood for and your beliefs that acted as the principle reason for the stop.” He added that those beliefs were legally a protected characteristic when it came to determining whether Robinson was a person falling within the relevant scope of the legislation, “namely a person who is or has been concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”. There was cheering from Robinson’s supporters in the public gallery as he left the dock after the acquittal. In his ruling, the judge said he had found it concerning that the police officers involved in Robinson’s detention had “no real recollection” of the questions they had asked him. “I accept it may be impossible to drawn a line between your political beliefs, philosophical beliefs and terrorism as there can be a clear overlap,” he added. “A police officer wishing to question you for the purpose of determining whether you are a terrorist or have links to terrorism through associates may wish to explore the nature and intensity of those beliefs, your mindset, your associations and an officer will not know initially what side of the line you may fall. They may cross the line into terrorism or links to terrorism within the spirit of the purposes of schedule 7.” However, based on the evidence, the judge said there was a question about whether he could be satisfied there was a basis for finding that the stop was lawful and not discriminatory.