Tommy Robinson was seen weeping in court during proceedings throughout a journalist harassment trial.
The 43-year-old, whose legal name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, said he was "shocked and scared" after an article was published about him while he was on holiday.
The story, published while he was in Cyprus in August 2024, reported on Robinson's comments about the Southport riots, which took place that summer.
After its publication, with the headline "Stoking riots from his sunbed", the activist said he wanted to challenge the journalists "on camera".
The founder of the EDL said he was left "panicked and terrified" after the Daily Mail's story was published.
Robinson first became aware of the story after his phone "started going crazy with people messaging me".
And, today, when asked how his family had been impacted, he insisted he would "not endanger any innocent family".
When the story was published, he said, his family moved to a different room in the hotel after he raised concerns with the building's security.
The defendant told the court he hired investigators to find the addresses of freelance journalist Andrew Young and editor Jacob Dirnhuber.
In Southwark Crown Court today, he insisted he did not want to hurt their families. Explaining he wanted to "put pressure on them", he told jurors: "I wanted to find the journalists."
The defendant denied that hiring the private investigators, who he enlisted to take photographs of the journalists' homes, was meant to "intimidate them".
When asked whether there was "any need at all" to share picture of the home addresses, Robinson said: "As I said at the time, I was desperate and I didn’t publish their addresses or their images.
"It was an attempt to bring the Daily Mail to the table."
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He further said he believed it to be "totally reasonable … under the circumstances" to post a picture of Mr Dirnhuber outside his home online.
When asked by defence lawyer Alisdair Williamson KC if he wanted to expose the journalist to threats of violence, he said: "Not at all.
"I didn’t really think about what he was being exposed to."
Robinson told the court he was trying to encourage the paper to take down a picture of his ex-wife from the published story.
He said he wanted to ask the Daily Mail about "the wrongness of what they had done" during a conversation his alleged victim branded "menacing".
He added: "I just wanted them to acknowledge – is it OK? If I was to do this to you, would that be OK?"
Shortly after the article was published, he said people were sharing the name of the hotel he was staying at in Cyprus, with some "telling people to head there".
When Mr Williamson asked if his comments after the Southport stabbing were "rather intemperate", he agreed, adding that he made "calls for calm" afterwards.
The defendant told the jury: “I would not endanger any innocent family. They could have run the story without giving my location.
"They shouldn’t have done that and this is not journalism, this is endangering us. I would find the men on camera and ask them how was I stoking race riots?
"They put the story out there and it’s everywhere and all of a sudden, it’s matter of fact.
"The main question I wanted to ask is: is it OK what you have done?”
The defendant pleaded not guilty to two charges of harassment causing fear of violence in July last year. The trial continues.
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Tommy Robinson was seen weeping in court during proceedings throughout a journalist harassment trial.
The 43-year-old, whose legal name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, said he was "shocked and scared" after an article was published about him while he was on holiday.
The story, published while he was in Cyprus in August 2024, reported on Robinson's comments about the Southport riots, which took place that summer.
After its publication, with the headline "Stoking riots from his sunbed", the activist said he wanted to challenge the journalists "on camera".
The founder of the EDL said he was left "panicked and terrified" after the Daily Mail's story was published.
Robinson first became aware of the story after his phone "started going crazy with people messaging me".
And, today, when asked how his family had been impacted, he insisted he would "not endanger any innocent family".
When the story was published, he said, his family moved to a different room in the hotel after he raised concerns with the building's security.
The defendant told the court he hired investigators to find the addresses of freelance journalist Andrew Young and editor Jacob Dirnhuber.
In Southwark Crown Court today, he insisted he did not want to hurt their families. Explaining he wanted to "put pressure on them", he told jurors: "I wanted to find the journalists."
The defendant denied that hiring the private investigators, who he enlisted to take photographs of the journalists' homes, was meant to "intimidate them".
When asked whether there was "any need at all" to share picture of the home addresses, Robinson said: "As I said at the time, I was desperate and I didn’t publish their addresses or their images.
"It was an attempt to bring the Daily Mail to the table."
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He further said he believed it to be "totally reasonable … under the circumstances" to post a picture of Mr Dirnhuber outside his home online.
When asked by defence lawyer Alisdair Williamson KC if he wanted to expose the journalist to threats of violence, he said: "Not at all.
"I didn’t really think about what he was being exposed to."
Robinson told the court he was trying to encourage the paper to take down a picture of his ex-wife from the published story.
He said he wanted to ask the Daily Mail about "the wrongness of what they had done" during a conversation his alleged victim branded "menacing".
He added: "I just wanted them to acknowledge – is it OK? If I was to do this to you, would that be OK?"
Shortly after the article was published, he said people were sharing the name of the hotel he was staying at in Cyprus, with some "telling people to head there".
When Mr Williamson asked if his comments after the Southport stabbing were "rather intemperate", he agreed, adding that he made "calls for calm" afterwards.
The defendant told the jury: “I would not endanger any innocent family. They could have run the story without giving my location.
"They shouldn’t have done that and this is not journalism, this is endangering us. I would find the men on camera and ask them how was I stoking race riots?
"They put the story out there and it’s everywhere and all of a sudden, it’s matter of fact.
"The main question I wanted to ask is: is it OK what you have done?”
The defendant pleaded not guilty to two charges of harassment causing fear of violence in July last year. The trial continues.
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter
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