Free Tommy Robinson messages appear on signs in Coventry

The hashtag has been used by supporters of Mr Robinson after he was jailed over contempt of court charges



Messages have been daubed on signs in Coventry in support of ex-EDL leader and far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

The FreeTommy hastag was spotted scrawled on a sign in the city's Holyhead Road in Coundon .

Another has also appeared on the corner of Tamworth Road and Sandpits Lane, the road which leads to Cardinal Newman Catholic School.

The hashtag has been used by supporters of Robinson after he was jailed for 13 months, following him pleading guilty to contempt of court charges at Leeds Crown Court.

The right-wing activist was arrested outside Leeds Crown Court in May.

He was filming a Facebook Live video outside the court, which had the potential to cause a major trial to collapse.

At the time of the Facebook Live, jurors were in the process of considering verdicts after hearing six weeks’ of evidence.

Robinson filmed himself as he read out the defendants' names and the charges they face - some of which were wrong - and confronted them as they arrived at court.

Within hours, the hour-long video had been watched more than 250,000 times.

The 35-year-old was arrested on suspicion of a breach of the peace and was held in the court cells before being taken up to the courtroom to face the trial judge.

Judge Geoffrey Marson QC, who locked up Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, told the far-right activist it could have caused the trial to be retried and cost taxpayers “hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pounds”.

He pleaded guilty to contempt of court and breach of a suspended sentence.

Matthew Harding, mitigating, said his client felt "deep regret" after realising the potential consequences of his actions.

He said Robinson was aware of the reporting restriction in place in the case but thought what he was saying on camera was already in the public domain.