The appearance of Elon Musk at a London anti-migration rally earlier this month demonstrates the growing influence far-right activist Tommy Robinson is having on the debate over illegal immigrants entering the UK. Musk was the headline speaker at the event organised by Robinson, which attracted a crowd of between 110,000 and 150,000.
The “Unite the Kingdom” demonstration organised by the anti-immigrant activist resulted in a number of violent clashes between protesters in central London and the arrest of at least 25 people after police faced a barrage of physical and verbal abuse from demonstrators who sought to breach cordons. At least 26 police officers were injured in the violence.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, criticised politicians for "parroting" his ideas in tackling illegal immigration, in what has become an increasingly toxic debate. He also claimed UK courts had decided the rights of undocumented migrants superseded those of the "local community". This followed a high-profile court case in which the UK’s Court of Appeal overturned an injunction blocking asylum seekers from being housed at a hotel in Epping, Essex.
However, the highlight of the event was the surprise appearance by tech entrepreneur Musk, who, addressing the crowd via videolink, condemned the “massive uncontrolled migration” taking place in the UK and called for a "change of government" in the UK.
"Something's got to be done," Musk said as he was interviewed by Robinson. "There's got to be a dissolution of Parliament and a new vote held."
Fierce criticism
Musk also received fierce criticism from British politicians after he warned the protesters that “violence is coming” and “you either fight back or you die”.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson responded to the criticism, insisting, “The UK is a fair, tolerant and decent country. The last thing the British people want is this sort of dangerous and inflammatory language.” He said it threatened “violence and intimidation on our streets”, adding: “I don’t think the British public will have any truck with that kind of language.”
Musk’s inflammatory contribution to the protest has now led to calls that he be stripped of his fellowship of the UK’s Royal Society—the world’s most prestigious scientific institution.
For Robinson, though, the size of the rally and the fact that he managed to attract a high-profile speaker such as Musk will be taken as evidence that his long-standing anti-immigration campaign is building momentum at a time when the Starmer government is struggling to curb the flow of illegal migrants to the UK, which has already passed the 30,000 mark this year.
Attendees shouted far-right slogans—with some men chanting “NF” (National Front)—and carried union jacks, St George’s and Israeli flags. Others held placards bearing the face of assassinated right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, and slogans such as “stop the boats” and “send them home”. A Palestinian flag was torn to shreds on stage.
Convicted criminal
Apart from being a far-right activist, Robinson is a convicted criminal who, in the past, has been bankrolled by right-wing American backers. A former member of the British National Party (BNP), he co-founded the English Defence League (EDL) in 2009 and led it until 2013.
His interest in politics appears to have been driven by his perception of what was happening in his hometown of Luton. The extremist al-Muhajiroun network—whose followers have been at the centre of numerous terrorism plots—had a power base in Luton.
Robinson and his supporters became concerned that police were doing little or nothing to combat the threat of “radical Islam” on their streets.
In April 2012, Robinson took part in the BBC series The Big Questions, in which far-right extremism was debated. The series saw the British Muslim commentator Mo Ansar inviting Robinson to join him and his family for dinner, resulting in several meetings over the next 18 months to discuss Islam, Islamism and the Muslim community; the meetings were captured in the BBC documentary When Tommy Met Mo.
In 2015, Robinson returned to anti-Islam demonstrations with Pegida UK, a British offshoot of Pegida—a German anti-immigration organisation founded in Dresden amidst the 2015 European migrant crisis. Addressing a Pegida anti-Islam rally in October that year, Robinson spoke out against what he perceived to be the threat of Islamist terrorists posing as refugees.
Zionist funded
Between 2017 and 2018, Robinson appeared in videos for the Canadian site Rebel News after being hired as their British correspondent, thanks to cash from US tech billionaire and Zionist Robert Shillman. Robinson was able to professionalise his image and rebrand himself as a ‘journalist’ by receiving a ‘Shillman Fellowship’, which is run through the anti-Islam nonprofit the David Horowitz Freedom Centre. He received an estimated £85k from 2017 to 2018, according to the Observer newspaper.
In the past 20 years, Robinson has served five prison terms. He was first convicted in 2005 of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault with intent to resist arrest against an off-duty police constable, kicking the officer in the head as he lay on the floor.
He was jailed in 2013 for entering the US using a passport that didn’t belong to him, and in 2019 for contempt of court over his interference in a grooming gang trial a year previously.
In 2021, Robinson received a five-year stalking prevention order for harassing a journalist and her partner, and was also found to have libelled a Syrian schoolboy in Huddersfield. Robinson then repeated the libel and was sentenced to 18 months in prison for contempt of court in October 2024.
At the Unite the Kingdom event this month, Robinson told the crowd: “It’s not just Britain that is being invaded, it’s not just Britain that is being raped. Every single Western nation faces the same problem: an orchestrated, organised invasion and replacement of European citizens is happening.”
Talking to the BBC afterwards, a Cabinet minister said that Robinson was touching into a "sense of disquiet" in the country. Business Secretary Peter Kyle said marchers were demonstrating freedom of association and freedom of speech.
Kyle said moments like these were “klaxon calls” for those in power to redouble their efforts to address the big concerns people have, including on immigration. “What worries me most is the divisions in our society and other societies and other democratic societies... It’s not even the left and the right at the moment,” he said. “There are figures such as Tommy Robinson that are able to touch into a sense of disquiet and grievance in the community in our society.
"A lot of it goes back to its roots in the financial crisis and the impact that had on communities around the country, and we haven't been able to bring our communities back together again since," Kyle continued.
