English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson today lost a libel case brought by a Syrian schoolboy who was filmed being attacked at his school - landing him with a £100,000 bill for damages.
The English Defence League founder - whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - was sued by Jamal Hijazi, then 16, who was assaulted in the playground at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield in October 2018.
Shortly after the video of the incident went viral, Robinson claimed in two Facebook videos that Jamal was 'not innocent and he violently attacks young English girls in his school'.
However, a judge today ruled against him and said evidence for his claims 'fell woefully short', adding that Jamal's behavioural record was 'overwhelmingly positive' with no evidence of any misconduct.
The English Defence League founder - whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - today lost a libel claim brought by a Syrian schoolboy. He is seen outside court yesterday
Shortly after the video of the incident went viral, Robinson claimed in two Facebook videos that Jamal (pictured) had previously been violent, but a judge dismissed the slurs
In the clips viewed by nearly one million people, the 38-year-old claimed Jamal 'beat a girl black and blue' and 'threatened to stab' another boy at his school, allegations the teenager denies.
At a four-day trial in April, Jamal's lawyers said that Robinson's comments had 'a devastating effect' on the schoolboy and his family who had come to the UK as refugees from Homs, Syria.
Robinson, who represented himself, argued his comments were substantially true, claiming to have 'uncovered dozens of accounts of aggressive, abusive and deceitful behaviour' by Jamal.
However, in a judgment delivered on Thursday, Mr Justice Nicklin ruled in Jamal's favour and granted him £100,000 in damages.
Catrin Evans QC, for Jamal, previously said that Robinson's slurs led to the teenager 'facing death threats and extremist agitation' and that he should receive damages of between £150,000 and £190,000.
In his judgment, Mr Justice Nicklin accepted that Jamal suffered 'particularly severe' consequences due to Robinson's videos, which he ruled made claims that were without foundation.
He said: 'The defendant's allegations against the claimant were very serious and were published widely. The defendant has admitted that their publication has caused serious harm to the claimant's reputation.'
A video showing Jamal being pushed to the ground and 'waterboarded' on the field at his secondary school in Huddersfield, W. Yorks, was shared nationwide in November 2018
Discussing the media attention that was on the original viral video, he added: 'The defendant's contribution to this media frenzy was a deliberate effort to portray the claimant as being, far from an innocent victim, but in fact a violent aggressor.
'Worse, the language used in the first and second videos was calculated to inflame the situation.
'As was entirely predictable, the claimant then became the target of abuse which ultimately led to him and his family having to leave their home, and the claimant to have to abandon his education.
