A London jury heard a voicemail attributed to activist Tommy Robinson that invoked Daily Mail journalists’ families as the court examined whether his conduct made two reporters fear violence.
The recording was played at Southwark Crown Court on Oct. 20, PA Media reported. In it, Robinson told Daily Mail editor-in-chief Ted Verity, “I’ll make you famous and your families.”
Robinson, whose legal name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of harassment causing fear of violence. The Crown Prosecution Service said the alleged offenses involving journalists Andrew Young and Jacob Dirnhuber occurred Aug. 5-7, 2024.
Prosecutors have described X posts about the journalists, direct messages to Dirnhuber and a phone call to Young after the Mail wrote about Robinson’s trip to Cyprus. They also accuse him of arranging for photographs to be taken at the reporters’ homes. The Mail’s coverage came during unrest in Britain after three girls were killed in Southport in July 2024.
Robinson’s position is that the reporting put his own family at risk and that his response was reasonable. In a statement read to jurors by prosecutor Ben Holt, Dirnhuber said the Mail had not published images identifying Robinson’s children. The jury has not decided the allegations.
ITV News reported that Holt also read Dirnhuber’s account of fearing a return home. Dirnhuber and his partner stayed in a hotel paid for by the Mail while security arrangements were made. In a statement read to jurors, Young said he worried Robinson’s supporters might retaliate against him or his family.
Young also described a caller who identified himself as Robinson and claimed to have researched Young’s family, as EconoTimes reported in its earlier account of the witness statements.
Sky News reported that the defense case was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. ET (1 p.m. UTC) Oct. 21.
