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Tommy Robinson has been found not guilty after being accused of a terror offence over refusing to give police access to his phone during a border stop.
Robinson, 42, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was driving a silver Bentley Bentayga SUV to the Spanish tourist hotspot of Benidorm when he was stopped by officers at the Channel Tunnel last year, a court previously heard.
The hearing was told police were suspicious of the 42-year-old’s “vague replies” about what he was doing and demanded access to his iPhone under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act, which gives police the power to stop anyone passing through a UK port “to determine whether they may be involved or concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”.
Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, arrives at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)
Robinson denied failing to comply with the counter-terrorism powers during the incident in Folkestone on 28 July 2024.
District Judge Sam Goozee cleared Robinson of a terror offence at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
The verdict came after a three-week wait because Robinson made a trip to Israel.
As the two-day trial took place last month, the former English Defence League (EDL) leader said in a video posted on X that billionaire Elon Musk had “picked up the legal bill” for “this absolute state persecution”.
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