Rogue and Mail
Tommy Robinson , Issue 1687

LAST week Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, trading as Tommy Robinson, was found guilty by a jury of harassment causing fear of violence in the case of two Daily Mail journalists whose reporting had displeased him.

Robinson hired private detectives to locate the homes of Jacob Dirnhuber and Andrew Young and editor Ted Verity, and posted photographs of Dirnhuber outside his house and of Young’s family online. This led to both journalists receiving death threats, to Dirnhuber and his partner having to leave their home and relocate to a hotel for their safety, and to the Mail providing Young with a close protection officer.

As a spokesperson for the paper said after the guilty verdict: “Yaxley-Lennon’s behaviour was reprehensible and had grave consequences for our reporters and their families. Through his actions, Yaxley-Lennon sought to undermine our right to hold him to account. We stand by our journalists and their freedom to report legitimately in the public interest.”

Full Nelson
What does Robinson’s biggest fan at the Mail, who has previously described him as “the Mandela of his time”, make of all this?

Dirnhuber and Young’s long-standing colleague investigations editor Sue Reid (for it is she) claimed in August that the Eye was “harassing” her by printing no fewer than five letters she sent us for publication.

During the trial she limited her Twitter comments to taking issue with people making jokes that Robinson might use drugs, declaring: “Cocaine is all over parliament. I know. I investigated it. Why not go for the elected politicians? All there.”

Hobble horse
But otherwise she avoided the subject, concentrating instead on airing her own theories about the deaths of Princess Diana and the government scientist David Kelly – and telling the world about the pusillanimous nature of her own editors at the Mail.

“See the Fleet Street guidelines on Islamophobia and learn why the mainstream media is hobbled,” she claimed darkly on 18 October. “Raised again and again to editors. Silence.”

A few days later, she made what appeared to be another swipe at Verity and his colleagues over the recent documentary on racism in Reform’s ranks: “Some in the mainstream media at a very high level fell for the ITV sting and silenced their writers analysing it.”

More top stories in the latest issue:

DADDY ISSUES
Might the Daily Mail be regretting the enthusiasm with which it – and its US editor Caroline Graham – took Thomas Markle’s side in the family feud?

RELATIVE HARM
The Sun breathlessly reported on regulations that will make the depiction of sexual relations between relatives illegal – and it’s a topic it knows well…

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM
The Independent hosted a lavish 40th birthday party at the British Museum, but it omitted to invite most of the journalists who still work at the title.

TRUST ISSUES
The Sun’s new YouTube series From the Newsroom promises “trusted faces who are experts in their own field” – which marks a sea change!

A BRIDGE TOO FAR
The Bromsgrove Standard ran an article by the co-founder of “activist” group Raise the Colours who is up in court this week charged with 14 offences.

AXEL MASSACRE
Allison Pearson is the biggest of several big names set to be let go by the Telegraph in a brutal reorganisation under new German owner Axel Springer.

CHEAP SHOTS
After picture agency Alamy changed its terms, reducing how much contributors keep from their work, it left one snapper with just 6p for use of his pic.