This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25862838
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Tommy Robinson, former EDL leader, jailed for fraud | Tommy Robinson, former EDL leader, jailed for fraud |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Former English Defence League leader Stephen Lennon, who uses the alias Tommy Robinson, has been jailed for 18 months for mortgage fraud. | Former English Defence League leader Stephen Lennon, who uses the alias Tommy Robinson, has been jailed for 18 months for mortgage fraud. |
| Lennon, 31, from Bedfordshire, who stood down from the EDL last year, was sentenced at St Albans Crown Court after pleading guilty last November. | |
| The fraud amounted to £160,000 over a period of six months. | The fraud amounted to £160,000 over a period of six months. |
| Lennon left the EDL in October, citing concerns over the "dangers of far-right extremism". | Lennon left the EDL in October, citing concerns over the "dangers of far-right extremism". |
| The court was told his life was in danger, and he would have to spend his prison time in solitary confinement. | |
| His barrister Charles Sherrard QC said that in January 2013, when Lennon was jailed for 10 months for using someone else's passport to travel to the USA, he had spent the whole time in solitary and was moved to four different jails for his safety. | |
| 'Wanted by al-Shabab' | |
| "Even in solitary he was regarded as being in danger," said Mr Sherrard. | |
| Lennon co-founded the EDL in 2009 after a homecoming parade by the Royal Anglian Regiment in Luton was disrupted by Islamist protesters. | |
| Mr Sherrard said Lennon was in even more danger now, having left the organisation. | |
| "He has alienated another large part of the community who saw him as their leader," he said. | |
| Lennon's safety was also at risk from members of Somali insurgent group al-Shabab, he added. | |
| "He is on a wanted list for al-Shabab so the prospect of prison for him takes on another level," said Mr Sherrard. |