The "Tommy Robinson" Case and Contempt of Court: Conflicting Interpretations of the Criminal Procedure Rules.

This article assesses the Court of Appeal's (Criminal Division) judgment in Stephen Yaxley-Lennon1 which arose from two separate findings of contempt of court against Tommy Robinson--an individual with a chequered profile attracting widespread public interest. The criminal process underpinning the 13-month prison sentence received by Tommy Robinson stemming from his use of livestreaming to report on criminal trials was characterised by procedural defects, the Court of Appeal's handling of which reveals a questionable approach taken towards the implementation of the Criminal Procedure Rules (CrimPR). The procedural safeguards around the use of the contempt power are clearly critical; the issue becoming increasingly important in the modern age of social media. The article will argue that the Court of Appeal s most recent interpretation of the requirement of compliance with provisions of the CrimPR in contempt proceedings should be revisited in light of a fuller acknowledgment of the context in which the now largely defunct ratio of Re West (Ian Stuart) (a barrister)2 was pronounced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]