Tommy Robinson appeal latest updates: Judges retire to consider judgement on whether to free EDL founder from prison
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Judges are considering an attempt by English Defence League (EDL) founder Tommy Robinson to be freed from prison.
The far-right leader, who is appearing under his real name of Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, was jailed in May after he broke blanket reporting restrictions on an ongoing set of trials by discussing them in a Facebook Live video.
A judge at Leeds Crown Court said Robinson admitted contempt of court and jailed him for a total of 13 months.
But his barrister told the Court of Appeal Robinson should be freed from prison and have his sentence "quashed" after arguing that criminal procedure rules had been broken.
Jeremy Dein QC argued that a judge at Leeds Crown Court should have adjourned the case to give Robinson further time with lawyers, and to respond to each allegation in detail, rather than jailing him within hours of the video being broadcast.
He also argued that the 13-month sentence handed down was "manifestly excessive" and may have been lower if a barrister was able to properly mitigate on his behalf.
The Lord Chief Justice said he and two other judges would consider the submissions and hope to come to a judgement by the end of July.
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Robinson was previously spared jail after committing contempt in another case in Canterbury in 2017, on the condition he committed no further crimes.
Judge Geoffrey Marson QC activated that three-month term and added 10 months for the new offence, telling Robinson that he risked causing a trial to collapse.
Protesters gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London ahead of the hearing on Wednesday, which was before the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, the Rt Hon Sir Ian Burnett, Mr Justice Turner and Mrs Justice McGowan DBE.
They may choose to reserve judgement to a later date after hearing evidence.
It comes a day after reports that lobbying by the far-right Breitbart news website caused the US ambassador for international religious freedom to raise Robinson's case with the British government.
US Senator Sam Brownback reportedly told British ambassador Sir Kim Darroch the UK should be more “sympathetic” to the former leader of the EDL and warned Sir Kim that the Trump administration might publicly criticise its handling of the case.
Robinson has been forming links with the American alt-right, who characterise him as a “citizen journalist” and see imprisonment as a violation of freedom of speech.
Steve Bannon, the former Breitbart chairman who served as the White House chief strategist, has given his personal support to Robinson and former Breitbart London editor Raheem Kassam has coordinated two “Free Tommy” rallies.
A neoconservative US think-tank said it was funding both Robinson's legal costs and two protests in London on 9 June and 14 July.
The June protest saw Robinson supporters perform Nazi salutes and attack police, while Saturday's event - which merged with a pro-Trump march - saw demonstrators blockade a bus driven by a Muslim woman and several arrests.
MPs and campaigners warned that far-right extremists were rallying around his imprisonment to develop a new “racist street movement” with international support.
It comes as statistics show more extreme right-wing terrorists are being arrested and jailed than ever before, with the head of MI5 warning that their brand of extremism was “rearing its ugly head” once more.
Prosecutors and police said Robinson’s posts radicalised Darren Osborne, the terrorist who ploughed a van into a group of Muslim worshippers in Finsbury Park last year.
Mr Dein says Robinson was placed into "what is effectively solitary confinement" in HMP Onley, given 30 mins of yard access a day and no rehabilitation, education, work, training and limited access to his children.
He says Robinson is "in peril", adding: "The prison is acting in good faith believing the appellant requires this level of protection."
Mr Dein says that in a previous sentence Robinson suffered "significant impact, in particular symptoms of anxiety, inability to sleep eat, nausea, tearful, inability to communicate and so on" in March 2013-July 2013.
He says that evidence was not put before the judge in Leeds.
Mr Dein says the Leeds judge, Geoffrey Marson QC, "started too high" with his sentencing.
"It is evident that a sentence of 10 months was too high in the circumstances, where similar or shorter sentences have been imposed on defendants who have expressly disobeyed judges' orders."
Mr Dein says: "A sentence of 10 months imprisonment was manifestly excesive in the circumstances of this case and the appellant has now been in custody since 25 May, being held as a criminal prisoner rather than a civil one, and it is our submission that he has served sufficient time in custody for the offence committeed in Leeds."
Mr Dein argues that the criminal procedure rules were breached, but admits it may not have made a difference to the finding.
He says it was not clear what law Robinson was being sentenced under in Canterbury and says that finding should also be quashed.
Mr Dein says that Robinson was not given specific conditions to his suspended sentence from Canterbury, but the Lord Chief Justice says he did not need to be.
Mr Dein says it is "wrong and unfair" that the three-month sentence was activated at Leeds.
The Lord Chief Justice says parts of the live stream seem to contravene Section 4 (2) of the Contempt of Court Act and others were "offensive"
He suggests rising for 10 minutes so Robinson's legal team can discuss the transcript among themselves
The hearing has resumed and Mr Dein is going through the transcript of Robinson's live stream outside Leeds Crown Court on 25 May.
He is noting what details Robinson went into, but the case in question is still subject to a blanket reporting restriction and so we cannot report them.