Tommy Robinson 'begs' Trump to grant him asylum as he faces UK 'death sentence'
Robinson could be jailed for two years after live-streaming video of defendants accused of the sexual exploitation of young girls.
Tuesday 9 July 2019 14:27, UK
Far-right activist Tommy Robinson has asked Donald Trump to grant him asylum in the US as he faces being jailed in the UK.
In an interview on the right-wing channel InfoWars on Monday, the former English Defence League (EDL) founder said: "I feel like I'm two days away from being sentenced to death in the UK.
"I beg Donald Trump, I beg the American government, to look at my case. I need evacuation from this country because dark forces are at work.
"This is a direct appeal on behalf of my family - we love the United States, I have no future here [in the UK]."
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, claimed he would be killed in jail and said that British prisons are "controlled by jihadi gangs".
Judges are set to give their detailed reasons for the contempt ruling the High Court later on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old filmed defendants accused of the sexual exploitation of young girls and live-streamed the footage, in breach of a reporting ban, outside Leeds Crown Court in May 2018.
He denied any wrongdoing, and said he did not believe he was breaching reporting restrictions.
On Monday, High Court judges Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Warby found him in contempt in three respects - breaching the reporting restriction imposed on the trial, by live-streaming the video outside a public entrance to the court and "aggressively confronting and filming" some of the defendants.
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Robinson is expected to be sentenced on Thursday. Contempt of court carries a maximum sentence of two years