UK anti-Muslim activist 'Tommy Robinson' challenges jail segregation

LONDON (Reuters) - British anti-Muslim activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who counts U.S. billionaire Elon Musk among his supporters, on Thursday challenged a decision to hold him in segregation in prison, arguing it was because of his political beliefs.

Yaxley-Lennon, known by the pseudonym Tommy Robinson, was jailed for 18 months last October after admitting contempt of court by breaching an injunction made after he was successfully sued for libel.

He has been kept apart from other prisoners at Woodhill Prison in central England for more than 140 days since then because the governor said he was at risk of being attacked.

The government said the prison had received intelligence that two inmates planned to assault him, and that he might be killed by another prisoner if moved elsewhere in the jail.

"I believe this is politically motivated because of my activism and my beliefs," his lawyer Alisdair Williamson quoted Yaxley-Lennon as telling London's High Court.

Williamson said there was no doubt that Yaxley-Lennon's mental health was suffering, and that he feared he would relapse into substance abuse on his expected release in July.

The government responded that his bespoke regime included being allowed more visits than any other prisoner, more time out of his cell, and up to four hours a day of telephone calls.

"I don't accept there has been ... direct discrimination," said government lawyer Tom Cross.

Musk has regularly interacted with Yaxley-Lennon on his social media platform, X, and called for his release.

Yaxley-Lennon's account said in January that the U.S. billionaire was paying some of his legal fees, though Musk has not confirmed this.

To critics, Yaxley-Lennon, who appeared by videolink, is a far-right rabble rouser who has become a flag-bearer for some British nationalists and anti-immigration campaigners.

Some media and politicians accused him of peddling misinformation to stoke tensions that led to rioting last July after the murder of three young girls.

He says the media lie about him, and that he is a journalist exposing wrongdoing.

The judge said he would give his decision on Friday.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Kevin Liffey)