Tommy Robinson 'turned up at journalist's home after she wrote story on him'

20 August 2021, 14:30 | Updated: 20 August 2021, 14:35

A journalist was left frightened when Tommy Robinson arrived at her home "angry and agitated" after she requested he comment on a story, a court has been told.

The English Defence League founder, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, threatened to come back every day, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard.

He is the subject of a stalking protection order application after he visited the home of Lizzie Dearden, the Independent's home affairs correspondent, and her boyfriend Samuel Partridge.

The court heard that Robinson went to her home on January 17, days after she requested a comment from him through his solicitors.

She was writing a story alleging he misused money donated by supporters.

Ryan Dowding, for the Metropolitan Police, said Robinson did not respond.

Instead, he turned up at her home, "shouting about Mr Partridge, claiming he was a paedophile", Mr Dowding said, adding: "There were then threats to come back every day if he needed to."

The lawyer said the threats appeared in a video filmed by Robinson, in which he said: "Lizzie, I will be back every day if I have to."

Mr Dowding added that Robinson was with someone in a Range Rover who sounded the horn throughout.

Giving evidence remotely, Ms Dearden was asked why she did not go downstairs to speak with him.

"Because I didn't know what he was going to do, and, from what I could hear on the intercom and through the street, he sounded very angry and agitated," she said.

"Basically, I was too frightened to go down."

She called 999 "so quickly" and heard Robinson asking for her partner by name, the court was told.

The court has previously heard Robinson, who was arrested over the incident, later posted two pictures of Mr Partridge online before sending an email to Ms Dearden purporting to comment on her story about him, in which he falsely claimed to have a source who said Mr Partridge had groomed a child.

At a previous hearing in March, Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram agreed to impose an interim order ahead of the full application for a stalking protection order, saying it was "necessary and proportionate" because the acts were "capable of being associated with stalking" and there was an "ongoing risk".

He said back in March: "What the police say in this case is he has embarked on all of this to persuade her not to publish the story, and he sought to do so by the threat of publishing his own allegations about her partner, which it's said are simply not true."

The case was adjourned to August 26.