The far-right activist Tommy Robinson will not face charges over allegations he punched a man to the ground at a London train station, police and prosecutors have announced.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm after the incident on 28 July at St Pancras train station.
The alleged victim, 64, refused to provide a statement to detectives from British Transport Police who investigated the case, the force said.
BTP said: “Following a report of an assault at St Pancras station on 28 July, detectives from BTP quickly launched a full and thorough investigation, which involved a 42-year-old man being arrested on suspicion of GBH at Luton airport on 4 August.
“Officers worked at pace to gather evidence, including CCTV footage and witness statements, however the victim did not wish to provide a statement to the investigation.
“We presented the prosecution file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) – who are responsible for considering the evidence available and deciding whether it meets the legal threshold to charge someone with an offence.
“Following a review of the available evidence, the CPS concluded that there was not a realistic prospect of conviction and therefore there would be no criminal charges in this case.”
It is understood that police had clear CCTV images of the clash, but the man did not support a prosecution.
The Guardian understands that the CCTV video showed the man – whom police called the victim – following Robinson for at least 20 seconds before the punch was thrown, leaving him motionless on the ground.
Robinson was backing away, it is understood, when the man was punched.
Shortly after the incident, video was posted on social media from the scene, which showed a 64-year-old man on the ground and Robinson appearing to claim he had acted in self-defence.
The alleged victim has a right to appeal against the decision not to prosecute. That is thought unlikely, given he has so far not assisted detectives with a statement and made clear he did not want to attend court to give evidence.
The CPS said: “We received a file of evidence from British Transport Police in relation to an allegation of assault at St Pancras Railway station on 28 July.
“Following a careful review of the evidence provided, we have concluded that our legal test for prosecution has not been met. We have informed all parties involved of the decision.”
Hours after the incident at St Pancras, Robinson took a flight out of Britain, landing first in Tenerife, Spain.
Once abroad, he went from Tenerife to Faro in Portugal, flying back to the UK on 4 August, where police were waiting for him.
The injured man was taken to hospital where he spent two days. Police said he was admitted “with serious injuries which are not thought to be life-threatening”.
Robinson is a former leader of the extreme-right English Defence League. The far-right monitoring group Hope Not Hate describes him as the “best-known far-right extremist in Britain”.
