Tommy Robinson: CPS investigating possible retrial of ex-EDL leader for assault charge

Tommy Robinson could be dragged back to court to face a charge of assault after prosecutors said they may seek a retrial. The former leader of the English Defence League (EDL) had been accused of attacking a fellow inmate in 2015 while serving a sentence for mortgage fraud in Peterborough Prison.

Robinson, who now helps lead anti-Islam group Pegida UK, appeared in Peterborough Magistrates' Court on 14 April for trial, having crowdfunded £24,000 for a legal defence from his supporters. The case against the 33-year-old, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, collapsed after Robinson's QC successfully argued the trial could not continue because of failures in providing evidence.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) this week told IBTimes UK the case has now been passed to its appeals team, however, which is looking into whether the body "should seek a judicial review" of the judge's ruling.

No decision has yet been made but a CPS spokesperson said should it decide to appeal the judge's decision, there could be a retrial.

A spokesperson for the CPS added: "Following legal argument on the day of the trial on 14 April 2016, the case against Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who had been charged with assault, was stopped. We are now seeking advice concerning the hearing."

Robinson had admitted to punching the inmate concerned but claimed it was self-defence. He said a fellow prisoner warned him he was going to be attacked with a cup of boiling water after a group of Muslim inmates allegedly offered a reward for anyone who assaulted him. Robinson's alleged assault was caught on prison CCTV.

Robinson told IBTimes UK the CPS had provided only select footage of the fight for the trial, which he said left out a clip allegedly showing a prisoner arrive to warn Robinson he was in danger. He says his defence had been told the rest of the footage had now been deleted.

Robinson also complained prison records, which his defence said would show he had told prison staff he feared for his life, were also not provided by prosecutors. Robinson described the charge against him as a "stitch up" and said the case was "state persecution" for his political activism.