Details of Tommy Robinson’s life in prison given at High Court hearing
The High Court heard Robinson has a ‘substantially more permissive’ segregation regime than standard prisoners.
Details of Tommy Robinson’s life in prison have been disclosed at the High Court, amid a bid to challenge the Government over his segregation behind bars.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was jailed for 18 months last October for the civil offence of contempt of court and is currently incarcerated in HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
He is currently seeking to launch a legal challenge against the Ministry of Justice over his segregation from other prisoners.
The High Court was told on Thursday that he was isolated because of concerns for his safety, including that he “would be killed by a lifer”.
The Ministry of Justice is opposing the challenge, and its lawyers said his isolation was “substantially more permissive” than standard segregation regimes, including access to a laptop and emails, use of an exercise yard for several hours a day, and being able to make social phone calls for four hours daily.
Tom Cross, for the MoJ, said in written submissions that 120 people had been authorised to visit him and that he had been allowed “over 80 visits”, another 13 “non-family visits” approved up to March 30, and the ability to request to see other prisoners.
His visits are two hours of social visits, four days a week, which he said were “well in excess” of prison requirements for unconvicted prisoners, which is at least one hour per visit, three days a week.
Mr Cross said that the governor of the prison had said he had “significantly more visits time than any other prisoner at HMP Woodhill”.
He said that Robinson could access a telephone for four hours a day to speak to family and friends since March 11, after a request for increased phone use was approved.
In court, Mr Cross said: “Since November 1, he (Robinson) has made more than 1,250 social telephone calls.”
He continued: “In his cell, he has access to various personal possessions, (such as) TV, laptop… notebook, CD player, DVD player.”
Mr Cross said Robinson used his laptop to send and receive emails, which he had done “in their hundreds”.
Other aspects of his incarceration include a daily visit from a member of the prison’s chaplaincy team, a daily visit from an NHS doctor or registered nurse, and two and three quarter hours of work “painting and decorating”, three days a week.
In written submissions, Mr Cross said: “The claimant’s regime does not amount to total solitary confinement. It has been and will continue to be modified as conditions have permitted.
“The claimant has been permitted extensive and regular communications with other people.”
Robinson was jailed in October last year by Mr Justice Johnson, after admitting 10 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 will be released from HMP Woodhill on July 26.
Mr Cross said that shortly after arriving at the prison in November, Robinson was moved to a “closed wing which cannot be accessed by other prisoners” after it received intelligence about threats to his safety.
In written submissions, he 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.”
Alisdair Williamson KC, for Robinson, said: “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 also said that Robinson disputed parts of the MoJ’s claims about his life in prison.
He said: “He (Robinson) disagrees that he has been working three times a week. In fact he has the opportunity of working for one and a half hours, on a Wednesday.
“He wanted to work with other people. He is working cleaning cells, on his own.
“When he goes to the gym, he is locked in, on his own.”
He continued: “The comparators that are provided (with other prisoners), we respectfully submit, do not assist.”
Mr Justice Chamberlain will hand down his decision in writing at a later date.
