English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson posted a selfie of himself at court, where he was jailed for mortgage fraud
English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson after being convicted of mortgage fraud Source: Twitter

English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson has been beaten up inside prison.

IBTimes UK understands that the ex-leader of the far-right group was attacked by up to three men inside HMP Woodhill.

The 31-year-old father-of-three sustained bloody injuries to his face but no broken bones.

Robinson was verbally threatened before the attack which was the first assault since he was convicted of mortgage fraud in January. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley Lennon, is serving 18 months at Woodhill in Milton Keynes.

A source close to Robinson told IBTimes UK: "They gave him a pasting.

"He was being taken for a legal visit and was then put in a room with these guys. The door was locked and the warders all disappeared.

"He has quite a few injuries to his face and neck and needed two visits to the medical wing."

The source said his attackers were Muslim prisoners but that could not be verified.

Robinson suspects the situation was engineered by the warders because of the obvious threat posed to him by opponents of the EDL. He fears he is a marked man inside the category A prison.

Related

The source said: "Tommy feels it was done deliberately and the warders are not exercising the duty of care to him."

At his sentencing, Robinson's lawyer Charles Sherrard QC said the defendant was at risk from attack in prison by Muslim inmates and disgrunted EDL supporters who bore a grudge for leaving the movement last year.

It is understood that Robinson is locked up in the prison's reception wing and was resisting attempts by the authorities to transfer him to the main wing because he feared being attacked by Muslim inmates.

The source agreed: "He would be dead if he went there. The authorities do not seem to be interested in his care. He's been verbally threatened previously."

Robinson founded the EDL against Islamic fundamentalism in 2009 and the movement remained controversial ever since for violence and racism. He quit the group after admitting that it had been overrun by far right extremists.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswomen said: "A prisoner has been treated for minor injuries following an incident at HMP Woodhill on Wednesday 5 February.

"Violence in prison is not tolerated — anyone who commits an act of violence in prison will face the consequences."