Tommy Robinson ‘stopped at border in Bentley with £13,000 in cash’
Tommy Robinson refused to hand over his phone’s PIN after being stopped by police in his Bentley SUV, telling officers ‘not a chance bruv,’ a court heard.
The former EDL leader is charged under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and arrived for his trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today.
He allegedly failed to provide his mobile phone PIN to police at the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone on July 28 last year.
Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – arrived at court earlier, flanked by bodyguards, cheered on by a handful of supporters and surrounded by photographers.
Before the hearing, Robinson claimed on a post on X that the tech billionaire Elon Musk had ‘picked up the legal bill’ for his latest court case.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
As the trial got going, the court heard Robinson told officers at Folkestone he would not hand over his phone’s PIN because it had ‘journalistic material’ on it.
The far-right activist, who had £13,000 and 1,900 Euros in cash with him, told them he was driving his silver Bentley to Benidorm for a couple of days, the trial heard.
Asked to give access to the iPhone, Robinson replied: ‘Not a chance bruv… you look like c*** so you ain’t having it.’
‘It’s my work, I’m a journalist,’ he said, adding that it held information about ‘vulnerable girls’.
‘The process by which journalistic material would be protected was explained to him,’ prosecutor Jo Morris told the court.
Under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act, police are allowed 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’.
Those stopped are legally obliged to answer questions and must provide the password or PIN for electronic devices.
If they refuse, they can be charged with terror offences.
Robinson could be jailed for up to three months and/or receive a £2,500 fine if found guilty.
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.
