Tommy Robinson

Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon ( Yaxley; born 27 November 1982), better known as Tommy Robinson, is a British far-right, anti-Islam activist. Described as "one of [the] UK's most prominent far-right activists", he co-founded the English Defence League (EDL), serving as its leader from 2009 to 2013.

Prior to the EDL, Robinson was a member of the British National Party (BNP), a British fascist political party, from 2004 to 2005. For a short time in 2012, he was joint vice-chairman of the British Freedom Party (BFP). In 2015, after leaving the EDL, he became involved with the development of Pegida UK, a now-defunct British chapter of the German Pegida. From 2017 to 2018, he wrote and appeared in videos on the Canadian website Rebel News. In 2018, he also served as a political advisor to Gerard Batten, then the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP).

Robinson is also known for creating self-produced videos presented in a documentary format, on topics including the grooming gangs scandal. Some of these videos have been found in court to include defamatory false statements about their subjects.

Robinson has criminal convictions was born in Luton on 27 November 1982. According to him in 2013, he was born Stephen Yaxley in London, and later adopted by his stepfather, Thomas Lennon. He attended Putteridge High School.

Robinson had an Irish mother and an English father. His mother worked at a bakery and at Vauxhall's car plant in Luton. He has also used the names Andrew McMaster, Paul Harris, with one report stating that by 2013 "Tommy Robinson now holds almost legendary status within this nascent movement, and is considered the "rock star" of the ECJM [European Counter-Jihad Movement]." Robinson attended official international counter-jihad events in 2012 in Aarhus, Denmark, Stockholm, Sweden and Brussels, Belgium. He left the EDL alongside 10 other senior figures, with Tim Ablitt becoming the EDL's new leader. In 2019, he appeared to show support for an ex-British soldier facing prosecution for the murder of Irish civilians on Bloody Sunday (1972) in Northern Ireland. Robinson wore a badge that said "I support soldiers A–Z" after "Soldier F" was set to face charges for the murder of civilians. In January 2019, Robinson livestreamed himself causing a lockdown, by leading a group that surrounded a library where Stewart McDonald, then the member of Parliament for Glasgow South, was holding a 'surgery'. The group included the convicted armed kidnapper Daniel Thomas. The library was reportedly bombarded with phone calls. McDonald was eventually escorted away by police and said Robinson's party had blocked emergency exits. The International Free Press Society is closely connected to the counterjihad movement and Liz Fekete, the executive director of the Institute of Race Relations in Britain, has suggested that it is an instrument for pushing the boundaries of hate speech.

On 1 November 2020, Robinson was arrested at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park, London, for breaking COVID-19 lockdown rules. Robinson has promoted debunked conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines.

In May 2021, he attended a march in London in support of Israel.

In January 2022, in response to the Telford child sexual exploitation scandal, Robinson held a protest where he screened his 73-minute documentary style video about Muslim grooming gangs, titled The Rape of Britain: Survivor Stories.

In August 2025, Robinson shared a video on Twitter of a black man and his brother playing with his white granddaughters in a park in North Yorkshire, falsely accusing them of paedophilia, which resulted in the family being racially abused with false paedophilia accusations. Labour MP for Redcar Anna Turley had to write a reference letter of good behaviour after the victim was suspended by his management. Turley stated that there was "no place for hate in our town" and said she was "heartbroken" for the family "who've been targeted and abused because of Tommy Robinson's poisonous lies".

In October 2025, some Metropolitan Police officers were suspended for allegedly supporting Robinson's anti-Muslim stance.

In January 2026, Robinson met Italian far-right politician and Deputy Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Salvini.

In February 2026, Robinson was reported to have left the UK following alleged threats against him in an Islamic State publication. It is believed Robinson was informed by the Bedfordshire Police of the threat by the ISIS group. Robinson had travelled to Washington, D.C., and visited the United States Department of State, where he had met with Joe Rittenhouse, a senior adviser to the U.S. Department of State, and Randy Fine, a U.S. Representative from Florida.

On 1 June 2026, he addressed a crowd outside Southampton central police station at a "Justice for Henry Nowak" protest, following the sentencing of Vickrum Digwa, found guilty of Nowak's murder.

2017 Communication with Finsbury Park mosque attacker It was revealed in court that the perpetrator of the 2017 Finsbury Park mosque terrorist attack had subscribed to email updates from Robinson's website and read Robinson's tweets in the lead-up to the attack. Robinson's tweet mocking people for responding to terrorism with the phrase "don't look back in anger" was found in the note at the scene of the attack. An email from Robinson's account to the attacker Darren Osborne shortly before read, "Dear Darren, you know about the terrible crimes committed against [name redacted] of Sunderland. Police let the suspects go ... why? It is because the suspects are refugees from Syria and Iraq. It's a national outrage ..." Another email read, "There is a nation within a nation forming just beneath the surface of the UK. It is a nation built on hatred, on violence and on Islam." Other contributors to Hearts of Oak include Niall McRae, the co-author of an Islamophobic and antisemitic conspiracy booklet, and Catherine Blaiklock, the former leader of the Brexit Party. Vice World News found eight separate companies currently or formerly run from the same address whose directors are members of the Orthodox Conservatives, the Bow Group or Turning Point UK.

Russian links (2020–2026) In February 2020, Robinson travelled to Russia, visiting Moscow and Saint Petersburg for a series of talks, meetings and media appearances in Russian media, such as Russia Today. Russian state media gave Robinson positive coverage, depicting him as a victim of censorship and oppression by the European Union. He voiced support for Russian president Vladimir Putin. The New York Times alleged that the trip "was actually a front for his real purpose, which was to seek out Russian bank accounts where he could hide his money". The following year, he made a video in support of the Russian political party For Truth (; Za Pravdu). Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Robinson spread pro-Russian disinformation about the war. In June 2026, Robinson met Errol Musk in a Moscow hotel, during a trip funded by the Musk Foundation. He later said that "Russia is not the enemy of Britain", but was criticised by Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey who described Robinson as "a useful idiot for a hostile state". On his return to the UK, Robinson was briefly detained at Heathrow Airport and his mobile phones were seized for examination.

In February 2026, a Byline Times investigation found that before his 2020 trip to Russia, Robinson was hired as a "goodwill ambassador" by the MMBF Trust (Matthew Martino Benevolent Fund), self-described as a "charity" but not registered as such. The Trust is part of network centred around London Post, an organisation that poses as local media but is operated by Moscow Media Group and its subsidiary MMG Brainstorming, directly working for the Presidential Administration of Russia, Russian Federation Council, State Duma and other Russian government organisations. In August 2024, prosecutors in the UK began to investigate Robinson for his alleged role in inciting the riots.

2025 public promotion of Robinson by Israeli government In mid-October 2025, Robinson travelled to Israel for a high-profile tour as the guest of Amichai Chikli, Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism in the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Israeli media, Robinson’s air fares and accommodation were paid for by the Israeli government. Accompanied by Chikli, Robinson visited Israel's parliament, a West Bank Zionist settlement and Israel's border with Gaza. Robinson's visit culminated in an address to hundreds of people at the Tel Aviv International Salon, where he denounced Britain’s recognition of a Palestinian state. A fervent Israeli audience applauded Robinson, and assaulted and threw out one person protesting at his invitation.

Chikli's invitation to Robinson reflected Chikli’s clearly stated view that in many countries an increase in sympathy for the Palestinian cause stemmed from the growth of Muslim populations due to immigration and hence that foreign far-right, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant politicians could be useful new allies for Israel. British anti-fascist magazine Searchlight accused Chikli of "facilitating the mainstreaming of the ideological heirs of Europe's darkest corners of pre-war fascism and post-war racism".

Chikli's choice of Robinson for an official visit matched Robinson's rising status in international far-right politics as someone whose rallies could now attract speakers like Elon Musk, Steve Bannon and Geert Wilders. According to the Observer, a major factor in Robinson's elevated public profile since 2017 was substantial funding and assistance with media and networking from US tech billionaire Robert Shillman, All four sources combine advocacy for Israel with encouragement for viewpoints and political movements in conflict with Muslims in Europe or North America.

Unite the Kingdom rallies

On 13 September 2025, in central London, over 110,000 people gathered in a 'Unite the Kingdom' rally organised by Robinson. A 5,000-strong counter-protest by anti-racism campaigners also took place. Violence at the rally saw 26 police officers injured, and 24 people arrested, after protesters threw bottles and other projectiles. Also in September 2025, British singer and songwriter Labi Siffre issued a cease and desist order against Robinson, over his use of his song "(Something Inside) So Strong" at the rally, saying: "Anybody who knows me... will know the joke of them using the work of a positive atheist, homosexual black artist as apparently representative of their movement."

On 13 December 2025, Robinson, who was reported to have converted to Christianity while in prison, organised a 'Unite the Kingdom' Christmas service attended by around 1,000 people.

On 16 May 2026, Robinson organised a second 'Unite the Kingdom' rally in central London, which attracted a smaller attendance (police estimated around 60,000) than in September 2025. Robinson told supporters to prepare for a "battle of Britain", encouraging them to move beyond street protest and get involved in local politics before the next general election. The UK government had earlier blocked 11 overseas far-right activists – including Valentina Gomez, Eva Vlaardingerbroek and Dominik Tarczyński – from entering the UK to attend the rally.

Involvement in electoral politics Robinson joined the far-right and fascist British National Party (BNP), then led by Nick Griffin, in 2004. When questioned about this by the journalist Andrew Neil in June 2013, he said that he had left after one year because he did not know Griffin was in the National Front or that non-whites could not join the organisation: "I joined, I saw what it was about, it was not for me." In response, the former UKIP leader Nigel Farage described Robinson as a "thug" and said he was heartbroken with the direction UKIP was going. He said he had faced a "near impossible task" in attempting to win a seat, as he was "unable to get across his message on social media platforms" after being banned by almost all such platforms.

Prior to the 2019 United Kingdom general election, Robinson endorsed Conservative Party leader Boris Johnson as prime minister. Following the election he announced he had joined the party. However, this was denied by a Conservative MP, Johnny Mercer, and by the Conservative Party nationally. Scram:, a website that campaigns against Robinson and other figures it sees as promoting far-right politics, has also debunked the claim.

In March 2022, Robinson began to endorse For Britain, and encouraged his supporters to join the party to "build a political force".

On 3 August 2025, Robinson posted a video on his X account, announcing that he had joined Advance UK. The party was set up by Ben Habib, who had previously been a co-deputy leader of Reform UK.

On 30 January 2026, Robinson endorsed Reform's Matt Goodwin for the 2026 Gorton and Denton by-election. A Reform spokesperson said that the party has been "consistently clear ... [that] he isn't welcome", while Farage stated that Robinson "can do what the hell he likes ... I don't think it really matters frankly." Goodwin refused to welcome the endorsement.

Criminal offences Robinson's criminal record includes convictions for violence, financial, and immigration frauds, possession of drugs, and public order offences.

In September 2011, at Preston Magistrates' Court, Robinson was convicted of assault for headbutting a man in Blackburn on 2 April 2011.

Mortgage fraud In November 2012 Robinson was charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by misrepresentation in relation to a mortgage application, along with five other defendants. On 19 March Robinson was issued with an interim stalking ban order. On 13 October 2021, Robinson was convicted at Westminster Magistrates' Court of stalking the couple, and was given a five-year ban from contacting them or referring to them. On 19 October 2023 he lost his appeal against the stalking ban order, having admitted that the allegations he made about Dearden's partner were false.

2025 harassment allegations On 21 May 2025, Robinson was charged with harassment causing fear of violence against two Daily Mail journalists in August 2024. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 5 June 2025, when he elected for a trial by jury and was released on bail ahead of a pre-trial hearing at Southwark Crown Court on 3 July 2025. At the hearing, Robinson entered not guilty pleas. The trial is scheduled for 16 October 2026.

Failure to open mobile phone to police On 13 November 2024, Robinson appeared in court charged with a terror-related offence after refusing to provide his mobile phone login PIN when requested by police in Folkestone on 28 July 2024. A trial, initially expected in March 2025, a judgement announced on 4 November 2025 cleared Robinson of the offence. The judge ruled that Robinson was stopped unlawfully as, rather than on suspicion of a connection to terrorism, the stop was based on what the far-right activist "stood for" and his beliefs.

Contempt of court in grooming gang cases 2017 conviction On 10 May 2017, Robinson was charged with contempt of court, and convicted.

The ramifications of this technical error came into effect in 2018 when the suspended prison sentence was activated. Robinson was again found to be in contempt of court at Leeds, again wrongly given a sentence of imprisonment and the Canterbury suspended sentence activated. At a demonstration in London on 9 June, over 10,000 protesters blocked the roads around Trafalgar Square and some attacked police, injuring five officers.

Appeal hearing Robinson lodged an appeal initially against the proceedings at Leeds, but much later against convictions both at Canterbury and Leeds. The Court of Appeal agreed to hear Robinson's appeal out of time because Robinson had been held in "effective solitary confinement", which had made it difficult for him to have meetings with his lawyers. A contempt conviction had been quashed by the Court of Appeal in August 2018 "over procedural failings", and Robinson had been freed on bail pending new proceedings at the Old Bailey. But Nicholas Hilliard, the Recorder of London, had referred the case to the attorney general in October 2018 for further investigation. After further studies for five months, Cox decided to raise further proceedings against Robinson, concluding that "there are strong grounds to bring fresh contempt of court proceedings against Stephen Yaxley-Lennon." He added, "As proceedings are now underway, it would not be appropriate to comment further and I remind everyone that it is an offence to comment on live court cases." The first hearing in this renewed case was due to take place at the High Court in London on 22 March 2019. Robinson reacted by alleging that this new procedure by the attorney general was part of "an ongoing state persecution of a journalist [Robinson], who exposes the [UK] government and establishment and all of their wrongs." On 11 July 2019, Robinson was jailed for nine months at the Old Bailey. He described the sentence as an "absolute joke" and called for protests. Outside the court, some of his supporters booed and a crowd marched toward the building chanting "we want Tommy out"; some began pelting police with bottles and cans. Robinson had already served 69 days and would be required to serve about another ten weeks. On 13 September 2019, Robinson was released from prison after serving nine weeks. Several days later, he said that he had spoken to Julian Assange in prison, and announced that he supported him.

Syrian refugee libel case

After a Syrian refugee boy was assaulted in a school bullying incident in October 2018, Robinson falsely accused the victim of having previously attacked two schoolgirls. The 15-year-old refugee was dragged to the floor by his neck and told by his attacker, "I'll drown you," while water was forced into his mouth. The boy's arm was in a cast after it had been broken in a separate assault.

It was reported that Facebook protected prominent figures such as Robinson from the normal rules of moderation that would usually see a page removed after posting content that violates its rules. Solicitors representing the victim are pursuing legal action against the social media firm on the basis Facebook was responsible for Robinson's posts as it had given him "special treatment [that] seems to be financially driven".

On 22 July 2021, Robinson was found to have libelled the boy and was ordered to pay £100,000 plus legal costs, which were understood to amount to a further £500,000. An injunction was also granted to stop Robinson from repeating the libel. Robinson, who represented himself during the four-day trial, said he was "gobsmacked" by the costs the victim's lawyers were claiming, which he said included £70,000 for taking witness statements. He added: "I've not got any money. I'm bankrupt. I've struggled hugely with my own issues these last 12 months ... I ain't got it."

Silenced

Robinson produced a film, Silenced, about the Almondbury Community School bullying incident. It was financed by InfoWars, the website owned by Alex Jones and known for publishing conspiracy theories and fake news, which filed for bankruptcy in 2024; a trailer for the first cut of the film was released on InfoWars in 2021. By 2023, Robinson had started working with MICE Media (a now-defunct media channel founded by Bryn Davis, an American technology entrepreneur, conspiracy theorist, and supporter of Donald Trump) to finalise a new version of Silenced. He depicts the incident and the resulting fallout as a "story about how the law is being manipulated and exploited by the far left and Islamists to destroy the lives of anyone who speaks out against the so-called progressive, so-called liberal narrative." Sam Doak of Logically Facts wrote that the film's release "invites potential legal jeopardy". The following day, Musk tweeted "Free Tommy Robinson!" and in another post he wrote: "Why is Tommy Robinson in a solitary confinement prison for telling the truth?" On 7 January 2025, Robinson released a podcast praising Musk and stating that Musk was protecting freedom of speech. HM Prison Service began investigating how Robinson recorded and released a podcast from his prison cell.

2024 arrest and imprisonment On 28 July 2024, Robinson was arrested by Kent Police at the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone under the Terrorism Act 2000, "for frustration of a schedule 7 examination" immediately after his Unite the Kingdom protest at Trafalgar Square. He was released on bail. At the Trafalgar Square protest, he allegedly screened his film Silenced, despite a High Court order. He had been scheduled to attend a High Court contempt of court hearing on 29 July for making the film.

Ahead of that hearing on 28 October 2024 at Woolwich Crown Court, Robinson was held in custody after handing himself in to Folkestone police station on 25 October. At the hearing, Robinson admitted contempt of court by repeating false allegations about the Syrian refugee. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison the judge later ordered Robinson to pay £50,000 by 4pm on 7 January 2025. Robinson was described by his barrister as "a journalist". Judge Jeremy Johnson said that Robinson had shown no remorse and there was no realistic prospect of rehabilitation, adding: "All of his actions so far suggest that he regards himself as above the law." He was relocated after the jail received numerous abusive and racist emails, including threats directed at the governor, who is a black woman. On 1 November 2024, Robinson entered a closed wing at HM Prison Woodhill to protect him from attacks by other prisoners.

Challenging prison segregation In March 2025, Robinson challenged the Ministry of Justice's decision to segregate him from other prisoners at HM Prison Woodhill. Robinson told the High Court that he was "terrified of the long-term consequences of the continued solitary confinement". The Ministry said Robinson had been segregated after it received multiple intelligence reports indicating that two other prisoners were plotting to assault Robinson. The Ministry feared that Robinson would "be killed by a lifer" if he remained on a wing. The Ministry also said Robinson's isolation was "substantially more permissive" than ordinary segregation arrangements: Robinson had access to a laptop and email, use of a gym facilities for three hours a day, and the ability to make social phone calls for four hours each day. It also revealed that, since November 2024, Robinson had made more than 1,250 social telephone calls, had sent hundreds of emails, and had had more than 90 visits approved, more than any other inmate. However, in May 2025, the High Court reduced his sentence by four months on the basis that he had given an assurance that he would comply with the injunction in future. As a result, he was released from HM Prison Woodhill in Milton Keynes on 27 May 2025.

Social media bans and reinstatement on X In March 2018, Robinson was permanently banned from Twitter for violating its rules on "hateful conduct".

In April 2019, YouTube restricted Robinson's account due to its "borderline content", placing its content "behind an interstitial [warning page], removed from recommendations, and stripped of key features including livestreaming, comments, suggested videos, and likes". In April 2020, Robinson was banned from TikTok for sharing content that "promote hateful ideology". Robinson had shared a clip of himself holding the Quran and saying, "This book is the reason we are in such a mess." Following the ban, Robinson joined VK, a Russian social media platform.

On 5 November 2023, Robinson's Twitter account was reinstated following the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk in November 2022. On 13 August 2024, the 30-year anniversary of the murder of Richard Everitt, Robinson stated on X that three defendants charged with the crime, Miah, Akbar and Hai, had been 'convicted' of the killing. Hai had in fact been acquitted. He wrote to Robinson stating this, and reported the post. On 16 August the tweet disappeared, but Robinson then made another post, copying the original screen, which he explained he had deleted to avoid having his X account suspended while he appealed the matter. Hai's lawyers Mishcon de Reya reported the second post, and then sent a letter before claim to X on 28 August. The post was removed on 6 September, within the deadline set by the lawyers. Hai, however, argues that X had not done enough to uphold its own policies, and the solicitors said the Online Safety Act 2023 had the potential to reduce such harmful online content. On 2 January 2025, the owner of X, Musk, pinned the message "Free Tommy Robinson" to the top of his own X-feed.

Financial support In 2017, the American billionaire businessman Robert J. Shillman funded Robinson's fellowship at the right-wing Canadian website Rebel News, with Robinson receiving over US$6,000 (£5,000) per month. It was reported in 2021 that Robinson had received over £2 million in donations and sponsorship. Former employees have raised questions as to what happened to money raised to support him. He denies misusing funds.

In June 2022, at the High Court in London, Robinson said that he spent £100,000 on gambling, stating he had suffered a "total mental breakdown", before declaring bankruptcy. He also said he owed an estimated £160,000 to HMRC. On 1 August 2022 Robinson was fined £900 for failing to appear at the High Court to answer questions over his finances; he was also ordered to pay £20,000 in costs.

Tax investigation In August 2024, The Times reported Robinson owed in the region of £2 million to his creditors, and said he and associates had created "a web of secretive companies" which made profits of over £1.6 million without paying tax. Robinson was the subject of an HMRC tax investigation and was reported to have discussed becoming "non-resident" for tax purposes. In the late 2010s, Robinson registered five companies under two different names (Paul Harris and Stephen Lennon). The Good Law Project said in 2024 that this potentially broke the law.

Personal life Robinson married Jenna Vowles in 2011 after about 10 years together; they have three children together. They divorced in February 2021.