British activist Tommy Robinson has reportedly fled the country ahead of a contempt of court hearing and after allegedly being arrested under “anti-terror” legislation.
According to the Solicitor General, which launched the latest court case against Robinson on contempt of court charges over a 2021 libel case, claimed ahead of Monday’s scheduled High Court hearing that the activist was no longer in the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom.
It came after Robinson Kent Police confirmed that a 41-year-old man had been detained Sunday under the Terrorism Act at the English Channel Tunnel, which connects Britain to France.
This followed a large-scale demonstration in London on Saturday, in which Robinson screened his film Silenced, which was banned over allegedly false claims made about Syrian refugee Jamal Hijazi, who successfully sued Robinson for libel in 2021, winning £100,000 in damages.
Solicitor General representative Adam Payter said that it is believed that Robinson left the country after being released on bail.
“We understand he failed to cooperate with a port stop and search. The implication is he was attempting to leave the country and therefore was not intending to attend this hearing this morning,” he said according to the Daily Mail.
On Monday, the High Court heard that Robinson was “not within the jurisdiction of the UK”. Payter told the court that the Solicitor General believed that the activist had returned to the UK “with the purpose of publishing the film” and to leave again “to put himself beyond the reach of this court’s jurisdiction.”.
The presiding judge, Justice Johnson said that he was “entirely satisfied” that the case could proceed without Robinson being present but said that the court would wait “until early October” to see if Robinson would return voluntarily for the next hearing.
In a post on his verified X account, supporters of Robinson said: “Tommy will be fighting his legal case on two different fronts.
“He has also asked me to tell everyone that ‘he is not going quietly’ and the truth needed to be exposed, because there is a ‘public interest’ to do so.”