Tommy Robinson has been ordered to pay £100,000 to a Syrian schoolboy who was filmed being attacked at school, after the English Defence League founder lost a libel case.
Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – was sued by Jamal Hijazi, 18, who was assaulted in the playground at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield in October 2018.
Robinson was also ordered to pay Jamal’s costs of bringing the libel claim.
Robinson said he was “gobsmacked” by the costs Jamal’s lawyers were claiming, which he said included £70,000 for taking witness statements.
He added: “I’ve not got any money. I’m bankrupt. I’ve struggled hugely with my own issues these last 12 months… I ain’t got it.”
Mr Justice Nicklin acknowledged that “there are limits on what can be enforced against him” as a result of Robinson’s bankruptcy, but ruled that Robinson should pay Jamal’s legal costs, which were not stated in court.