Jailed English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson has reportedly been punched in the face for behaving “like a celebrity”.
The far-right activist, 36, was attacked by a 70-year-old man in the showers at HMP Belmarsh, where he is currently serving a nine-month sentence for contempt of court.
According to Daily Star, Robinson was attacked just days after arriving at the facility.
Read more: Sharon Osbourne’s son Jack ‘brutally attacked in unprovoked assault’
A source quoted by the paper said: “There was a bit of pushing then one prisoner, a 70-year-old, very hard pensioner, decked Robinson with a punch to the jaw.
“He didn’t have any idea who he had hit, but he wasn’t going to back down. Those are the rules in Belmarsh, you fight or back down.
“It was all over in a flash. One of the prison officers asked what was going on, but he said he slipped so no official report was made. If you start acting as though you are big time, someone will take you down.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice told the publication it does not “comment on individuals”.
On Robinson’s website, his spokesperson Avi Yemini slammed reports of the attack and said it never happened.
An update on the site read: “For his own protection, Tommy Robinson has been in complete isolation since arriving at Belmarsh prison. Robinson has not seen another prisoner, let alone been showering with other inmates.”
In a video, Yemini said: “He’s been in isolation and he’s safe for now.”
Robinson was sentenced to prison time earlier this month for live-streaming footage of defendants in a grooming gang trial on Facebook.
The former EDL boss, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was found guilty of contempt of court on July 5 following a two-day hearing at London’s Old Bailey.
His sentence comprises six months for filming outside Leeds Crown Court in 2018 and a further three for an incident at Canterbury Crown Court in 2017.
Read more: Love Island’s Michael Griffiths is hoping Joanna will take him back
With the time he served in jail in 2018 for the same offence deducted from the sentence, his prison stint will amount to 19 weeks with a release on licence after 10.
Robinson was found to be in contempt for breaching a reporting ban by filming, outside Leeds Crown Court in May last year, men accused of sexually exploiting young girls.
The court found Robinson’s hour-and-a-half long video encouraged “vigilante action” and attracted 250,000 views the morning it was broadcast.
Robinson’s video, which was eventually viewed 3.4 million times, was originally broadcast while the jury considered its verdict on the grooming gang trial.
Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think of this story.