Tommy Robinson employed “bullyboy, intimidatory tactics” against two Mail journalists, prosecutors told a court on Monday.
The activist, whose legal name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, allegedly sent photographers to the journalists’ homes and shared images of the properties with his millions of social media followers.
Andrew Young and Jacob Dirnhuber were left fearing for their personal safety, the court heard.
Robinson—referred to in court as Lennon—denies two charges of harassment causing fear of violence.
The English Defence League founder greeted supporters outside Southwark Crown Court as he arrived for the five-day trial.
Opening the prosecution case, Ben Holt said the 43-year-old had targeted the journalists after viewing their coverage of his holiday as “an unnecessary intrusion”.
Addressing the jury, the prosecutor said: “What he did, we say, was to intimidate those journalists.
“He chose to frighten them and arranged for individuals to go to their addresses.
“He circulated images of their homes on social media to millions of followers.
“His supporters became involved and threatened the journalists.
“Understandably, you might agree, they were scared and, in some cases, were forced to leave their homes.”
The nine women and three men on the jury were told that the allegations relate to events in the summer of 2024, amid widespread unrest across England after three young girls were stabbed to death at a dance event in Southport.
Tommy Robinson, front left, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, appeared at Southwark Crown Court today for the start of his five-day trial
Mr Holt said Lennon had posted messages on X from his holiday in Cyprus during some of the anti-immigration demonstrations.
Mr Dirnhuber then sent reporter Andrew Young and a photographer to Cyprus, where they photographed Lennon lying on a sunbed while using his mobile phone.
The court heard that Mr Dirnhuber knew the prime minister had referred in a speech to people “who were whipping up trouble and running away”.
Jurors were shown the Daily Mail’s front page from August 5, which featured a photograph of Lennon beneath the headline: “Stoking race riots from his sunbed.”
Mr Holt said jurors might agree or disagree with the Daily Mail’s editorial decision and could hold their own views about the newspaper.
However, he stressed that the trial was not about the newspaper’s editorial stance. Instead, it concerned Lennon’s response to the journalists, whom he believed had intruded on his holiday.
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The prosecutor said Lennon could have complained to the independent press regulator IPSO but did not. Rather, he allegedly sent photographers to the journalists’ home addresses.
‘This is what this trial is actually about,’ said Mr Holt. ‘The prosecution say this defendant, using bully-boy, intimidatory tactics, threatened the journalists.
‘He put pictures, albeit redacted, of them out on his timeline on X for the enjoyment and appreciation of his followers.
‘And, as a result, the journalists feared for their own personal safety and also for their own family, either being forced to leave home or employ security personnel to watch their home address.’
Lennon allegedly sent Mr Dirnhuber a message saying ‘I’ll be knocking on your door’.
When one of the activist’s followers posted a photo of Mr Dirnhuber outside his home address, the far-Right leader reposted it with the words ‘Got ya’, adding: ‘I got all three of you tagged & bagged in 1 day’.
He allegedly phoned Mr Young and was ‘swearing and shouting’, saying he had researched Mr Young’s family. ‘Mr Lennon became, in Mr Young’s words, increasingly menacing,’ said the prosecutor. Mr Young believes he told him: ‘I’m coming to get you’, and he repeatedly asked Mr Young ‘if he thought it was fair that he had “doxxed” his children by exposing his holiday location’.
He also left a voicemail on the Editor of the Daily Mail’s mobile phone saying: ‘I’ve already located every f***ing one of you.’
Lennon, wearing a blue checked waistcoat and white shirt, listened as the prosecution outlined the case against him.
Jurors were told he had answered ‘no comment’ to all questions when police first interviewed him, on December 9, 2024. When detectives interviewed him a second time, two days later, he provided a prepared statement.
It said the Mail article had identified the hotel where he had been staying in Cyprus with his family and he was ‘suddenly overrun with news crews taking photos and filming my children’. He said his children had been ‘scared and upset’.
There were no identifiable pictures of Lennon’s children published by the Daily Mail in print or online, jurors were told.
Mr Holt said: ‘His case is that his family had been put in danger by the actions of the Daily Mail. A phrase we will hear a few times in this case is, “What is good for the goose is good for the gander”.
‘He acted as he did to protect his family – as such, he says, his conduct was reasonable.’
The trial judge, Mr Justice Cavanagh, told the jury the defendant was a ‘prominent activist and commentator’ adding: ‘If you have any opinions about the defendant, you must put those complaints to one side.
‘This is not a trial about, or an assessment of, the defendant’s political views.’
The prosecutor said: ‘You will all probably have heard of him and about him. You might have your own views about him and what he stands for; both for and against. You must put those feelings aside during the course of this case.’
The trial continues.