The family of Syrian refugee who was bullied is taking legal action against Tommy Robinson

Tommy Robinson on free speech


Support us and go ad-free

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:

Related articles

Read on...

Support us and go ad-free

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

Support us and go ad-free

We know everyone is suffering under the Tories - but the Canary is a vital weapon in our fight back, and we need your support

The Canary Workers’ Co-op knows life is hard. The Tories are waging a class war against us we’re all having to fight. But like trade unions and community organising, truly independent working-class media is a vital weapon in our armoury.

The Canary doesn’t have the budget of the corporate media. In fact, our income is over 1,000 times less than the Guardian’s. What we do have is a radical agenda that disrupts power and amplifies marginalised communities. But we can only do this with our readers’ support.

So please, help us continue to spread messages of resistance and hope. Even the smallest donation would mean the world to us.

Support us

Related articles