Tommy Robinson segregated in prison due to ‘mark on his head’, High Court told

Tommy Robinson was moved to a “closed wing” in prison after it received reports that he had a “‘mark on his head’ and would be killed by a lifer”, the High Court has heard.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is serving an 18-month prison sentence for contempt of court after breaching an injunction.

On Thursday, his barristers told the High Court that he should be allowed to bring a legal challenge over his segregation from other prisoners at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes, with the court told that he had suffered an “evident decline in his mental health”.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is opposing the bid, with its lawyers stating it is “not an arguable claim” and that Robinson was isolated following threats to his safety, including that he would be assaulted by other prisoners for “kudos”.

In written submissions, Tom Cross, for the MoJ, said that after being sentenced in October last year, Robinson was admitted to HMP Belmarsh, but “on his first day he stated he had a conflict with followers of Islam”.

He was then moved to HMP Woodhill on November 1, but the prison received intelligence over threats to Robinson, which resulted in him being moved to a “closed wing which cannot be accessed by other prisoners”.

Mr Cross said: “HMP Woodhill received several intelligence reports showing a non-speculative risk to the claimant, including that two other prisoners at HMP Woodhill were plotting to assault the claimant to gain kudos and notoriety, and that the claimant had a ‘mark on his head’ and would be killed by a lifer if located on a wing.”

Mr Cross said that Robinson remained on the “closed wing” but that “this is ultimately an interim position” until he can be moved to a different wing, which is undergoing repairs.

He continued: “The significant risks both to the claimant’s own safety and to the good order or discipline of the prison required him to remain removed from association with other prisoners, subject to review.”

He added that the MoJ had considered whether an alternative prison was available, but had concluded that “there is not presently another option where the risk to the claimant, and to good order or discipline, could be better managed”.

Mr Cross also said that Robinson’s segregation was “more permissive” than usual, including having access to a laptop, being able to send and receive emails “in their thousands”, and having access to gym facilities for three hours a day.

Robinson was jailed in October last year by Mr Justice Johnson, after admitting ten breaches of a High Court order made in 2021.

The order barred him from repeating libellous allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him.

He is set to be released from HMP Woodhill on July 26 and appeared from prison on Thursday via video link in a grey jumper.

His barrister, Alisdair Williamson KC, said that in February Robinson asked to be moved to open prison, stating: “The solitary confinement is destroying my mind.”

Robinson continued: “I am terrified of the long-term consequences of the continued solitary confinement. I feel I am being provoked to react. I want to leave prison mentally well, not mentally broken.”

Robinson said in a separate complaint, also made last month, that he felt the “continued isolation” was “politically motivated because of my activism and beliefs”.

Mr Williamson said: “We accept that there was and perhaps is a threat to the claimant at HMP Woodhill which justified the original decision to segregate him.

“So our focus is the Secretary of State giving them leave to continue that process in the face of a decline, an evident decline, in his mental health.”

He continued: “We are presented with a position that Woodhill is not a safe place for him to be unless he is in segregation, but that segregation is, we suggest, harming him.”

He added: “It is clear, we submit, that the distress he is suffering goes beyond that which is inherent in incarceration.”

Mr Williamson told the court that HMP Woodhill has “a significant Muslim population”, adding that “it appears to be that which is causing a difficulty”.

The barrister continued that Robinson should be moved to a different prison “where he does not have to be kept in isolation”.

The hearing before Mr Justice Chamberlain is set to conclude later on Thursday.