Far-right activist Tommy Robinson has been jailed for 18 months after admitting contempt of court by repeating false claims against a Syrian refugee.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, admitted 10 breaches of a 2021 High Court order during a hearing at Woolwich Crown Court.

Lawyers for the attorney general accused the 41-year-old of “undermining” the rule of law.

Passing sentence, Judge Johnson said the breaches of the order, which prevented Yaxley-Lenon from repeating the charges, were not “accidental, negligent or merely reckless” and that the threshold for deprivation of liberty was “well exceeded”.

Monday’s hearing was the culmination of events dating back to October 2018.

That month, a video went viral showing Jamal Hijazi, a Syrian in West Yorkshire, being attacked by another teenager at school.

So Yaxley-Lennon posted his own response to a million Facebook followers claiming that his investigation had revealed that Mr Hijazi was a violent criminal, a claim that was untrue.

Yaxley-Lennon’s video spread widely and the Syrian teen and his family received death threats.

Three years later, Mr Hijazi won £100,000 in damages when the The Supreme Court ruled that Yaxley-Lennon’s claims against him amounted to defamation.

The court imposed an injunction on Yaxley-Lennon banning him from making false claims again.

In February 2023, Yaxley-Lennon, the founder of the now defunct English Defense League (EDL), founded began repeating the claims and then posted a film online claiming he had been “silenced” by the state.

That film may have been viewed at least 47 million times.

Finally, in July, the anti-Islam activist showed the film to thousands of his supporters in London’s Trafalgar Square, saying he would not be silenced. The next day he left the country.

Aidan Eardley KC, Solicitor General Sarah Sackman, told the court that Yaxley-Lennon intended to repeat the false allegations despite the order and then take “evasive” action.

“This is a case with a high degree of culpability due to the large number of breaches,” Mr Eardley said.

“It is an ongoing infringement, the material is still available and some of it is under the control of the suspect.”

Sasha Wass KC, for Yaxley-Lennon, said he was a journalist who followed his principles and was a passionate supporter of freedom of expression.

“This defendant has been neither devious nor dishonest, nor has he sought profit for himself,” she said.

She said he was such a controversial figure that he could be placed in solitary confinement by prison governors, as had happened the last time he was in prison, and that there was medical evidence that he had previously suffered from trauma, panic attacks and nightmares had suffered.

Jailing Yaxley-Lennon for 18 months, Judge Johnson said: “In a democratic society, underpinned by the rule of law, court orders must be obeyed.

“No one is above the law. No one can choose which laws or orders to obey, or which not to obey.

“Even if they believe an order conflicts with their views, they must comply with the order.

“They have no right to set themselves up as judges in their own court. Otherwise, the administration of justice and the rule of law would collapse.”

The judge said the contempt of court was aggravated because the defendant had repeated the claims after proceedings against him had begun – and had taken no steps to prevent the false claims from continuing to circulate.

The sentence could be reduced by four months in the future if the suspect shows the court that he has taken steps to remove the offending film.

But the judge added: “The suspect has not shown any inclination to comply with the order in the future. All his actions show that he considers himself above the law.”

This case was the fourth contempt case he has faced, having previously received a suspended sentence and a six-month prison sentence.

Yaxley-Lennon has been separately charged with failing to unlock his phone for police when he was stopped and questioned at a port under counter-terrorism powers. He will appear in court on this charge in November.