Stephen Yaxley-Lennon
Tommy Robinson is the pseudonym of the former leader in the English Defence League. According to the Guardian, he is a 28-year-old carpenter from Luton.[1]
In its July 2010 edition, Searchlight magazine named Robinson as Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, a former British National Party member from Bedford sentenced to 12 months imprisonment in 2005 for assaulting an off-duty police officer.[2] Yaxley-Lennon's name first surfaced in a comment accompanying an anonymously posted video purporting to show Robinson's face. According to a screenshot taken by Searchlight, Robinson appeared to confirm his identity by commenting on Facebook: "hey at least people can see my hansome [sic] face now."[3] According to the One Million United blog, Robinson's Facebook page was deleted shortly after publication of the Searchlight story.[4]
Convictions
In July 2011, Yaxley-Lennon was found guilty of "using threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour" during a clash between rival football fans in Luton on 24 August 2010.[5]
The BBC reported:
- He was given a 12-month community rehabilitation order and a three-year ban from football by Luton magistrates. He must also carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £650 in costs.[6]
In 2013, Yaxley-Lennob was imprisoned for 10 months for visiting the United States using someone else's passport. In November 2013, he pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring with others to obtain a mortgage by misrepresentation from the Abbey and Halifax building societies in 2009.[7] He was subsequently jailed for sixteen months in January 2013.[8]
New Party
Following the Counterjihad London 2011 meeting in London in September 2011, Yaxley-Lennnon claimed moves were afoot to start a new political party. Reuters reported:
- Lennon revealed that the EDL was in discussions with similar groups across Europe about forming a political party.
- "There will be an anti-Islamist political party forming his year," he said with confidence. "Britain's primed for it."[9]
Departure from EDL
In October 2013, Yaxley-Lennon announced he and 12 other senior members were leaving the EDL, in a move 'facilitated' by the Quilliam Foundation.[10]
In late 2013, Yaxley-Lennon told Lars Hedegaard and Ingrid Carlqvist of Dispatch International:
- When I met the people from Quilliam, I realized that they could help me with a lot of things. I’m just a working class bloke from Luton. I don’t know how to set up and run a think tank and get donations. I asked if they would teach me and they said yes. They said: ”You may have whatever opinions you like but you will get more out of expressing them in a more political way.”[11]
Post-EDL support for 'anti-Islamisation movements'
Since leaving the English Defence League, Yaxley-Lennon has promoted a number of 'anti-Islamisation' / anti-Islam movements to his considerable Twitter following.
Germany
Yaxley-Lennon has supported the anti-Islam movement PEGIDA in Germany but has been critical of attempts to start a Pegida UK.
France
Yaxley-Lennon has supported rallies in France including a 16 January 2015 demonstration in Lyon organised by Luttons Unis Contre l'Islamisation de l'Europe (LUCIDE) and an 18 January protest organised by Riposte Laïque.[12]
Affiliations
- Afzal Amin, British Conservative Party candidate for Dudley North in 2015 [13]
Contact
- Defunct Facebook page Tommy Robinson
- Post-EDL Twitter account @TRobinsonNewEra
External resources
- Nick Lowles and Simon Cressy, The BNP past of the EDL leader, Searchlight, July 2010.
- Richard Bartholomew, Searchlight Names EDL Leader “Tommy Robinson” as Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, Bartholomew's Notes on Religion, 26 June 2010.
- Nick Lowles, EDL leader refused entry into US, HOPE not hate, 10 September 2010.
- EDL Founder charged with Muslim poppy protest assault, BBC News, 12 November 2010.
- EDL founder denies Armistice Day assault on officer, BBC News, 22 November 2010.
- EDL founder Stephen Lennon's police assault charge dropped, BBC News, 12 January 2011.
- EDL leader Stephen Lennon denies assault charge, BBC News, 24 June 2011.
Notes
- ↑ Robert Booth, Matthew Taylor and Paul Lewis, English Defence League: chaotic alliance stirs up trouble on streets, The Guardian, 12 September 2007
- ↑ Nick Lowles and Simon Cressy, The BNP past of the EDL leader, Searchlight, July 2010.
- ↑ Nick Lowles and Simon Cressy, The BNP past of the EDL leader, Searchlight, July 2010.
- ↑ Exclusive: EDL Panics As Exposed Leader Goes Into Hiding, One Million United Official Blog, 26 June 2010.
- ↑ EDL founder Stephen Lennon guilty over football brawl, BBC News, 25 July 2011.
- ↑ EDL founder Stephen Lennon guilty over football brawl, BBC News, 25 July 2011.
- ↑ EDL founder Stephen Yaxley-Lennon admits mortgage fraud, BBC News, 26 November 2013.
- ↑ Tommy Robinson, former EDL leader, jailed for fraud, BBC News, 23 January 2014.
- ↑ Michael Holden, 1936 anti-fascist London "battle" has resonance today, Reuters, 4 October 2011.
- ↑ Ian Dunt, Tommy Robinson quits the EDL, politics.co.uk, 8 October 2013.
- ↑ Ingrid Carlqvist and Lars Hedegaard, Tommy Robinson’s long journey has only begun, Dispatch International, 5 November 2013.
- ↑ Status 7 January 2015, @TRobinsonNewEra, accessed 19 January 2015
- ↑ Nicholas Watt and Matthew Taylor, candidate accused of EDL plot urged to 'fess up' and 'go now', The Guardian, 22 March 2015, accessed same day