The alleged appeal mounted on behalf of Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson, against the custodial sentence handed down for his second admitted Contempt of Court in the past 18 months, appears to have hit a snag. It isn’t happening, or at least, not when his supporters claimed it would. And the suspicion is gradually increasing that everything about this case is not as it seems.
Lennon pleaded guilty when he appeared in court in Leeds, as he did when he made his earlier appearance in Canterbury. So it seems highly unusual that the case would come to appeal. He admitted his guilt, and that was that. But it seems that it is the custodial sentence that is being appealed. And Rebel Media is on the case.
Ezra Levant
So we went from news of a “new #TommyRobinson legal DEFENCE FUND, authorized by Tommy's family, to pay for his appeal”, to “Tommy Robinson's lawyer lodges appeal, applies for bail”, and then “Thanks to you, we're crowdfunding a top legal team to represent #TommyRobinson, whose appeal will be heard JULY 10 by Lord Justice Leveson, the #UK's most senior criminal judge”. But then a problem entered.
As Mike Stuchbery pointed out, “.@TheRebelTV claims that 'Tommy Robinson' is having his appeal on the 10th. That's news to the RCJ. No Stephen Lennon for that date. The #FreeTommy lot have been conned”. There was, indeed no case featuring anyone called Lennon or Yaxley Lennon on the Appeal Court list. So now what?
Ezra Levant of Rebel Media has not told when the appeal will be held. But he has signalled the beginning of the blame game. “OUTRAGE: Tommy Robinson's appeal court date has been cancelled by the state. They say they need ‘more time’ to prepare, so Tommy can rot in jail longer. Tommy, by contrast, was given mere minutes to prepare his defence on May 25th” he told his followers yesterday.
He followed that with “To be clear: Tommy Robinson is still appealing his case. But the DATE of July 10 has been cancelled. The government excuse - they need more time - is pitiful, and manifestly false”. Levant knows more about the justice system than those administering the justice system. And then the blame shifted.
The target of the far-right is now Sir Brian Leveson, who Levant has claimed will hear Lennon’s appeal, but no-one has confirmed it. A site called Kipper Central has claimed “Lord Leveson gave an interview to the BBC Radio 4s Law In Action program on June 24th in which he used the case of Mr Robinson as an example of when posting material on the internet can lead to imprisonment due to contempt of court. This means, I would submit, that already, before the case has been heard and therefore before Lord Leveson has had all the facts of the case presented to him, that he has in fact predetermined the guilt of Mr Robinson and is therefore unable to impartially judge his appeal”.
This was, in turn, picked up by the screamingly batshit Voice of Europe site: “Lord Brian Leveson is the judge that was set to hear the appeal by Tommy on 10 July. He was on BBC 4s Law in Action program on 24 June where he discussed Tommy’s case, declaring him GUILTY before seeing any evidence or allowing him a fair trial”.
And UKIP Daily has gone totally gaga, claiming “So today, we discover that the Deep State is engaging in more machinations over Tommy Robinson, and is effectively determined to see him dead”. Most of this is uninformed speculation.
Yet it is being picked up by Lennon’s supporters and treated as if it were fact. We don’t know for sure of this appeal really exists. Nor is it certain who would hear it when it finally comes to the Appeal Court. Yet Ezra Levant is there whipping up the mob, aided and abetted by the batshit misinformation fringe.
The smear of Sir Brian Leveson is as needless and it is disgraceful. Levant and his pals should stick to factual information, but that is not what they are about. There is another gathering in support of Lennon on the 14th, and they need to stir up the faithful enough to get them out on to the streets of London once more.
This dishonest and dangerous rabble-rousing needs to stop. But those behind it aren’t sensible enough to do that. So it won’t stop. Until someone gets seriously hurt. Or worse.
10 comments:
Bang on!!!
Gaz from Stoke (now Greece)
Maybe the date was right, just the year that was wrong. Hopefully.
Are these Kipper reactionaries brain dead or being deliberately obtuse? The following is an exercise in armchair lawyer-speak bolloxology:
"I would submit, that already, before the case has been heard and therefore before Lord Leveson has had all the facts of the case presented to him, that he has in fact predetermined the guilt of Mr Robinson and is therefore unable to impartially judge his appeal"
Despite laughing at the grandiose attempts at legalese, how many times do these morons need to be told that an appeal court judge will certainly have 'predetermined the guilt of' Yaxley-Lennon by virtue of the fact that the little hate preacher pleaded guilty in the first place!
Tommeh is not in a position to appeal his conviction due to his consistent guilty pleas, he may only seek permission to appeal the 'severity' of his sentence which wouldn't have much legal merit. Appealing cases from the Crown Court is not automatically granted like it would be when, for instance, appealing a case from a Magistrates Court to County Court level. Nor is it as quickly processed nor bail pending appeal as frequently granted, as an appeal from a Magistrates Court. There is also a deadline of 28 days to seek permission to appeal a Crown Court sentence. This is a good link that spells out much better than I could the limited options for Yaxley-Lennon: Appealing a Crown Court Sentence
Needless to say, someone in 'Team Tommy' is being characteristically economical with the truth regarding his legal options but have not let reality get in the way of some primetime E beggary.
The crowdfunding is the clue: they're out to mug some thugs for as much as they can while stirring up more hatred.
Maybe I'm missing something but where did 'Team Tommeh' get the idea Leveson would be involved anywhere in Yaxley-Lennon's supposed appeal? If it is merely based on the fact that Leveson commented on the case during R4's Law in Action programme, then that's no indicator of his involvement.
I'm sure if the UK Court Service are anything like I'm used to in my jurisdiction, as a matter of course they post forthcoming hearings on their website. The Court Lists usually appear about 7-10 days ahead of scheduled hearings, primarily for perusal by the media and other interested parties.
Anyway, I'm quite sure knaves like Ezra 'fingers' Levant, his fellow Fascist filth and Yaxley-Lennon's Simian cultists, wont let small considerations like longstanding legislation or even reality, interfere with them milking hapless supporters for their cash accompanied by the usual thinly veiled incitements to violence.
I heard the Judge interviewed & he had already Judged Tommy Robinson guilty by the Judges own words.
A righteous Judge remains impartial & it is the Judges duty before God to hear Tommy's defence.
There maybe trouble ahead... Legal trouble for the Free Tommy brigade, money for an appeal goes missing....
Never heard of a judge, especially such a distinhuished one as Lord Leveson commenting on a case before, during or after a case (except perhaps to warn the media over reporting but that's done in court).
To do so would immediately prevent them from hearing a case and 90% of even Dumbed Down Britain understands this but not our lot.
How bloody stupid are they?. And yes- the crowdfunding is the key.
"Anonymous said...
I heard the Judge interviewed & he had already Judged Tommy Robinson guilty by the Judges own words.
A righteous Judge remains impartial & it is the Judges duty before God to hear Tommy's defence.
4 July 2018 at 23:44"
Tommy Robinson judged Tommy Robinson guilty and he should know.
Question:
And who funds Voice of Europe?
Surprise, surprise......
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