Juno News - October 20, 2018


True North headed to UK to cover Tommy Robinson trial


Episode Stats

Length

3 minutes

Words per Minute

175.73105

Word Count

629

Sentence Count

33


Summary

British activist and commentator Tommy Robinson is back in court this week. At stake is a fundamentally simple question: Was he in contempt of court when he set off on that infamous live stream outside a courthouse in the United Kingdom when he was giving commentary and analysis on the second of three trials of alleged sexual groomers, gang rapists and traffickers?


Transcript

00:00:00.000 British activist and commentator Tommy Robinson is back in court this week.
00:00:04.620 At stake is one fundamentally simple question.
00:00:07.560 Was Tommy in contempt of court when he set off on that infamous live Facebook stream,
00:00:13.600 a 75-minute long broadcast outside a courthouse in Leeds in the United Kingdom,
00:00:19.040 when he was giving commentary and analysis, and yes, coverage,
00:00:22.580 on the second of three trials of alleged sexual groomers, gang rapists, and traffickers?
00:00:28.740 This is what Tommy Robinson was doing,
00:00:31.080 covering a case that he felt the mainstream media was ignoring.
00:00:34.780 He was actually, as you saw in that live stream, very cautious.
00:00:37.980 In fact, questioning throughout it.
00:00:39.680 I think I can say this, right? I'm good to say this. Okay, perfect.
00:00:42.680 Well, not to a judge in Leeds who had Tommy not only arrested,
00:00:47.940 but also tried, convicted, and sentenced in less than five hours.
00:00:52.480 Sentenced to 13 months, much of which he spent in solitary confinement.
00:00:57.160 Now, that conviction was overturned this summer,
00:01:00.200 but now it's time to have an actual fair and open hearing of the contempt of court charge.
00:01:06.340 And given how negligent and, in many cases, malicious the media in the UK have been
00:01:11.660 in covering Tommy Robinson,
00:01:13.680 I'm very pleased to be going alongside senior fellow at the True North Initiative,
00:01:17.600 Candace Malcolm, to cover that case on the ground in the United Kingdom this week.
00:01:21.900 In fact, by the time you see this, I might even be in the air,
00:01:25.140 as we hopefully bring some real journalism and reporting to what's happening there.
00:01:29.400 Now, I don't consider myself a reporter.
00:01:31.400 I'm a commentator.
00:01:32.540 I have a bias, as every media official does.
00:01:35.200 I'm just honest about mine.
00:01:36.800 But on the subject of Tommy Robinson,
00:01:38.660 I must admit, I am not a Tommy Robinson cheerleader.
00:01:41.760 I've had a couple of interactions with him,
00:01:43.620 but I wouldn't say he's a friend.
00:01:44.920 I don't know him well.
00:01:46.060 And there are things that he's said and done that I'm not entirely sold on.
00:01:50.220 But what I can tell you is that I want to bring an approach
00:01:52.860 that demands truth and fairness and accountability,
00:01:55.940 which is more than I can say for much of the media coverage of Tommy Robinson.
00:02:00.120 And I'm going there not because I believe that Tommy Robinson
00:02:02.820 is the guy we all need to line up behind,
00:02:05.240 but because I believe in due process.
00:02:07.260 And more importantly, I believe in hearing from Tommy himself
00:02:10.340 what it is that he stands for and who it is that he actually is.
00:02:14.700 And that's going to be what I hope to take away from this.
00:02:17.220 Now, while on the ground in the United Kingdom,
00:02:18.880 I'm going to be trying to find some other stories that might emerge there.
00:02:22.000 I'm only going to be there for a few days.
00:02:24.120 But I wanted to give you a heads up
00:02:25.600 that we are going to be at the True North Initiative going global
00:02:28.440 because the question of due process,
00:02:30.800 of freedom for journalists to report,
00:02:33.180 of freedom for activists to cover cases that are of interest to them
00:02:36.540 is a universal challenge.
00:02:38.600 What's happened to Tommy in the courts?
00:02:40.340 What's happened to Tommy in the press?
00:02:42.100 These are things that don't just start and end with Tommy Robinson,
00:02:45.500 but challenges that many people on the right in Canada
00:02:48.440 and other Western nations have to deal with.
00:02:50.900 So that's what we're going to be doing.
00:02:52.260 If you have any questions for us, please do reach out.
00:02:55.180 But stay tuned for a week of amazing coverage
00:02:58.100 at the True North Initiative,
00:02:59.520 the kind of which you are never going to find in the mainstream media.
00:03:02.680 For the True North Initiative, I'm Andrew Lutton.
00:03:04.780 The True North Initiative, I'm Andrew Lutton.