The British far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson failed to show up in court on Tuesday for questioning about his finances after declaring bankruptcy during a losing libel battle with a Syrian teenager.
Jamal Hijazi successfully sued Mr Robinson, 39, over his claims that the pupil attacked young girls in school, beat a girl “black and blue” and threatened to stab another boy.
The claims were found to be false and Mr Robinson was told by a judge last year to pay the former refugee £100,000 in damages. Mr Hijazi’s legal costs were thought to be more than £500,000.
Mr Robinson, the founder of the far-right English Defence League, had already declared bankruptcy — four months after he was ordered in November 2020 to pay more than £43,000 in legal costs.
Last month, Mr Hijazi's lawyers successfully applied for an order requiring Mr Robinson to return to the High Court in London to answer questions about his finances. They claimed that he had not compiled a full account of his assets in his bankruptcy claim.
Ian Helme said Mr Robinson owed a “substantial sum” and that they intended to question him “with a view to establishing what steps would be most proportionate to take with a view to maximising recovery".
But Mr Robinson failed to turn up despite knowing “perfectly well” about the hearing, said the judge.
“It seems to me at first sight a classic situation where he has decided not to attend,” said the judge, John Dagnall.
He referred the case to a more senior judge who will decide if he committed contempt. He could potentially face a prison term.
The libel action followed comments by Mr Robinson on Facebook after Mr Hijazi, then aged 15, featured in a video that went viral showing him being assaulted at a school in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
The boy’s lawyers said that the comments had a devastating effect on the schoolboy and his family who came to the UK from Homs, Syria. The boy received death threats and “extremist agitation”.
After losing the case last year, Mr Robinson — whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon — told the court that he was “gobsmacked” by the whole costs issue and said that he did not have any money to pay.
“I have been struggling hugely with my own issues these last 12 months so I don’t know what the relevance of any of their costs are, to be honest, or the compensation, because I ain’t got it,” he said.
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
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Our family matters legal consultant
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Brief scores:
Arsenal 4
Xhaka 25', Lacazette 55', Ramsey 79', Aubameyang 83'
Fulham 1
Kamara 69'
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
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3. Hajj
4. Shahada
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What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
FIXTURES
Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)
Results:
5pm: Handicap (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600 metres
Winner: Dasan Da, Saeed Al Mazrooei (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF Saabah, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: Mukaram, Pat Cosgrave, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) | Dh80,000 | 2,200m
Winner: MH Tawag, Richard Mullen, Elise Jeanne
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) | Dh70,000 | 1,400m
Winner: RB Inferno, Fabrice Veron, Ismail Mohammed
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh100,000 | 1,600m
Winner: Juthoor, Jim Crowley, Erwan Charpy
