Oh Tommy Tommy - Bravely Ran Away

The question has now been answered: yes, Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson, did indeed get himself arrested yesterday, and yes, he was detained under the Terrorism Act 2000. But then came the reasoning behind the detention, and the further news that Lennon has once again taken all those faithful followers of his for so many mugs.

What Lennon did not tell when he made yesterday’s pitch for supporters to hand over more of their hard earned money was which Police force had arrested him. We only knew that it was not the Met. Moreover, the assumption that he had been nicked because of something that happened during his rally on Saturday proved to be wide of the mark.

The Great Man had been stopped while attempting to board a EuroTunnel shuttle service. In other words, he’d been nicked while attempting to flee the country in advance of a court hearing today - concerning his alleged contempt of court over showing his film SILENCED, where he tells a whole stack of flat-out and indeed defamatory lies. And where does the Terrorism Act come in?

Simples. He was asked to unlock his phone. He refused. That is an offence under the Terrorism Act 2000, and one where he would not be within his rights to not say anything, not that Lennon needs much prompting to open his North and South. So his phone was confiscated. By the time he was bailed, thousands would have been stumped up from those supporters.

So what did he do after being bailed? With his presence required at court today, and the certainty of an arrest warrant being issued should he decline to appear, he showed all those supporters just what mugs they were. Brave Tommy ran away: he just got his motor onto the next EuroTunnel shuttle and away he went to France, out of the jurisdiction of the courts.

As the BBC has reported, "A senior judge has issued an arrest warrant for far-right campaigner Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - better known by his alias Tommy Robinson - after learning he has left the country on the eve of a major legal case against him … Yaxley-Lennon left the UK by a Eurotunnel train on Sunday night”. The barrister representing the Attorney General had more.

“We understand he failed to cooperate with a port stop and search … The implication is he was attempting to leave the country and therefore was not intending to attend this hearing this morning … The information that we have is that he is not within the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom”. The Judge decided that the contempt of court application should proceed anyway.

So where will The Great Man fetch up? Who knows, and, indeed, who cares? If he’s driving, it’ll probably be the Spanish mainland. Like the place on the Costa Blanca he was occupying not long ago. When he tried for the umpteenth time to smear anyone mentioning he was living in that approximate area as giving away his address and endangering his family.

Already the more gullible part of his fan base is claiming Lennon is on a “long arranged holiday”. Like heck he is. Were that true, it would merely confirm that he had no intention of facing justice today. He claimed he would be prepared to go to jail. But when push came to shove, he just pocketed all those donations and ran away. So what will happen to supporters’ money?

A significant part of it will be snorted away. More will go on rental and upkeep costs for whatever upmarket and exclusive property The Great Man chooses to occupy for the next few months, while hoping to stay out of trouble and therefore not give the authorities in Spain (or wherever) an excuse to send him back to a jurisdiction where that arrest warrant can be used on him.

More will be expended on food and drink, which someone else will procure and prepare - Lennon won’t be seen slumming it down the local Consum or Mercadona. And don’t forget the cost of that private pool. Stephen Lennon’s fans can pretend all they like - the reality is that their donations are just being used to fuel The Great Man’s upmarket lifestyle. They’ve been had for mugs.

He’s run away with your money, mugs. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

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