Tommy Robinson’s Court Hearing
“Why don’t you just f**k off you c**t?” were the words that first greeted me when I arrived at the edges of Tommy Robinson demo. To be fair, being of middle eastern descent doesn’t exactly make me welcome among Robinson supporters but I kept my head down and people mostly just ignored me. The first thing I noticed upon arriving is that there were about 200 Robinson supporters and about 30 anti-fascist counter-protestors. Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Christopher Yaxley Lennon, was attending a court hearing at the Old Bailey for a retrial after being charged with contempt of court earlier this year.

Tommy Robinson supporters try to push back against police lines outside the Old Bailey – Milo Mirzai
The police were out in force attempting to contain the protestors and keep the entrance to the Old Bailey clear. I decided the front of the Old Bailey would have some good photo opportunities. Soon I was trapped between a police line on one side of me and protestors shouting ‘free Tommy’ slogans as Stephen was escorted by his entourage/bodyguards to the front of the Old Bailey. I couldn’t hear the short speech that he made to a camera but I was surprised that he was actually kind of short in person. It was quite a surreal experience standing a metre or two away from a man who represents an existential threat to my existence. The atmosphere was tense, to say the least.
For a crowd so opposed to diversity there was quite a variety of different demographics and factions, albeit most people were white British given the nature of far-right politics. The crowd was mostly men but not by much and while the age range was quite broad I would say most people were somewhere between 30-50 with a surprising amount of young people. There were some interesting organisations in attendance UKIP, Generation Identity and For Britain to name a few. Generation Identity is a “pan-European Identitarian Movement” seeking to preserve European culture and western civilisation with links to Alt-right. ex-UKIP leadership candidate Anne Marie Waters started For Britain, a party that is unsurprisingly pro-Brexit, anti-immigration and definitively far right. Additionally, there were a number of Stephens old football hooligan friends and members of the EDL.
Freedom of speech is of course always a hot topic at right wing demonstrations and this was no exception, but I felt Robinson’s supporters brought a new level of contradiction to the table. On the one hand, I overheard the phrase ‘the left are so intolerant to our beliefs’ or something of similar sentiment, followed by someone yelling an overtly racist slogan that I have absolutely no wish to repeat. The far-right has been quite effective at weaponising liberal values and rhetoric for arguably incredibly illiberal beliefs and policies and will be a recurring theme throughout this project.
While the numbers weren’t staggering it’s certainly bigger than most far-right demos that used to happen 2-3 years ago before Brexit. While I don’t want to engage in fear-mongering, the far right is definitely on the rise illustrating that the right’s online presence is starting to translate into real-world action. The counter-protest being so small and ineffective is definitely concerning, the Left needs to take these fringe groups seriously before they move into the mainstream.
- Robinson Supporters stand in front of old Bailey. – Milo Mirzai
- If anyone can explain the “we love you Iron Balls” sign that would be great, I assume it’s a nickname for Stephen but how on earth do you get that nickname? – Milo Mirzai
- Police lines separating the far right from the anti-fascists. – Milo Mirzai
- A Woman wearing a hijab walks calmly past protestors on her way to the Old Bailey. – Milo Mirzai
- For Britain flags being flown in support of Tommy Robinson – Milo Mirzai