News of a Syrian refugee boy in Huddersfield being bullied in school spread after a video of a racist attack went viral. It later emerged that the bully shared facebook posts of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, aka Tommy Robinson, former leader of the far-right English Defence League (EDL).
Yaxley-Lennon posted several videos on social media about the issue. He claimed the attack in the video was in response to the victim bullying a girl from his school. He went on to say that “lots of Muslim gangs are beating up white English kids”.
Legal action
The boy’s lawyer has now issued a notice to Yaxley-Lennon saying the videos are “defamatory”, and that they will be taking legal action:
— Akunjee 🖋 (@mohammedakunjee) November 29, 2018
Speaking to the Independent, Tasnime Akunjee said on behalf of the family’s legal team:
[The boy] had nothing to do with the attack [on the girl] at all… These are clearly defamatory comments made by Tommy so we’re pursuing that… We will be communicating with Robinson and we will be taking legal action.
Fake news
Yaxley-Lennon’s claims regarding the victim attacking the girl have since been challenged by others too.
Meanwhile, a photo he shared about another alleged attack on a white boy in the same school turned out to be from a 2017 article about a cancer patient. Yaxley-Lennon has issued an apology, claiming someone misled him with false evidence. He also admitted to spreading ‘fake news‘.
The family
More recently, police were made aware of another video involving a young female member of the same family being assaulted at the school. This is currently under investigation by West Yorkshire police.
The case against the boy’s alleged attacker is currently ongoing, and the family is receiving support from multiple local agencies.
Meanwhile, a crowdfunding page to support the family has raised close to £150k.
Featured image via YouTube
