// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Trial hears Tommy Robinson hired private detectives
Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has been giving evidence at Southwark Crown Court
Political activist Tommy Robinson has told a court he hired private detectives to track down and photograph two reporters to "put pressure" on them.
The 43-year-old from Bedfordshire, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was giving evidence at Southwark Crown Court and said he had been "shocked and scared" when the Daily Mail published a story accusing him of "stoking race riots from his sunbed".
He denied two charges of harassment causing fear of violence to reporters Andrew Young and Jacob Dirnhuber after the 2024 Southport attacks.
Robinson is accused of writing posts on X, sending direct messages and making phone calls that made the two journalists fear the risk of vigilante attacks.
He denied wanting to expose the journalists to threats of violence, and said he felt his actions were "totally reasonable... under the circumstances".
Robinson told the court he wanted to find the Daily Mail journalists and question them about an article
In early August 2024, he was on holiday at the Atlantica Mare resort in Cyprus, as riots took place in England following the murders of three girls in Southport.
He told the jury he was on holiday with "my ex-wife, my three children and three other families and their children".
He said he had managed to keep his ex-wife and children out of sight "for 17 years -and that meant travelling in separate cars".