My phone call with Tommy Robinson

The job sometimes means we have to speak to people we’d otherwise rather avoid

In my career of more than 15 years as a journalist, I have occasionally been obliged to come into closer contact with certain individuals than might have been the case had it been left down to personal preference.

From the football hooligan who threw a punch at me outside Wolverhampton Crown Court, through to the “businessmen” who systematically preyed on then defrauded vulnerable pensioners to high-profile politicians I may not have seen eye to eye with, a recurring feature of the job is the need to speak to people we may or may not find objectionable.

It was with this in mind that I called Stephen Yaxley-Lennon today.