Tommy Robinson thanks Elon Musk for defence funds as he's cleared of terror charge

Far-right activist and self-styled journalist Tommy Robinson has been found not guilty of terrorism charges in the UK and has avoided jail, after a legal battle funded by tech billionaire Elon Musk.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was charged under the Terrorism Act for refusing to give police access to his phone during a border stop.

Earlier this year, the 42-year-old was stopped by police at the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone while driving a friend’s silver Bentley to Benidorm, Spain.

Officers said they became suspicious after Robinson gave “vague replies” to their questions, leading them to stop him under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act – powers that allow police to stop anyone at the UK border to determine whether they have potential links to terrorism.

After receiving the verdict, Robinson posted a video on X thanking Musk for funding his legal fight.

“As I am walking out of court, Elon Musk, I am forever grateful – if you didn’t step in and fund my legal fight, then I would probably be in jail,” Robinson said.

Judge Sam Goozee found Robinson not guilty after a two-day trial last month, during which his barrister argued that police had engaged in a “fishing expedition” and that there was no evidence from the UK's domestic intelligence service, MI5, to suggest he was a terrorist.

Robinson told officers that his phone contained confidential journalistic material and he refused to hand it over, leading police to charge him under the Terrorism Act.

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In his ruling on Tuesday, Goozee told Robinson: “I cannot put out of my mind that it was actually what you stood for and your beliefs that acted as the [police's] principal reason for the stop.”

The district judge added that he was concerned the officers involved in Robinson’s detention had “no real recollection” of the questions they had asked.

The verdict in Robinson's case was delayed after he accepted an invitation from Israeli Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli. 

Robinson has, over the past two decades, built a violent street movement focused on stoking fears of an Islamic takeover of the UK.

He has received prison sentences and community orders since 2003 for, among other things, football brawling, travelling on another man's passport to the US, mortgage fraud, possession of drugs, threatening behaviour, and breach of a court order.

In 2021 he lost a libel lawsuit over his slurs against a Syrian schoolboy who was filmed being attacked at school.