Jamie Carragher and other Bootle names tell Tommy…

Jamie Carragher and other Bootle names tell Tommy Robinson he's not welcome

Reds legend Jamie Carragher is one of a whole host of names who say Tommy Robinson is not welcome in Bootle.

Robinson - real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - is expected to visit Bootle this weekend, as part of his bid to get elected as MEP for the North West.

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But a statement that has the support of various parties - including a number of Merseyside MPs - has slammed the founder of the English Defence League, saying he uses the outcome of the EU referendum to 'breed a narrative that does not represent the people of Bootle '.

In full, it reads: "We strongly oppose the politics of hate and division being led by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon’s campaign.

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"Yaxley-Lennon plans to visit Bootle on his tour of the north west on May 19 and we will stand united with all of our communities to let him know his politics are not welcome here.

"After 10 years of austerity and increasing deprivation within our communities, we are proud that we have worked together to protect our neighbourhoods and the most vulnerable in society.

"Austerity was a Tory and Liberal Democratic political choice, not an economic necessity and not the fault of any ethnic group or religion.

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"Hate is not tolerated in Bootle, across Sefton and Merseyside.

"There are both leave and remain voters in Bootle but people here did not vote for hate, they took part in a democratic referendum which Yaxley-Lennon is using to breed a narrative that does not represent the residents of Bootle.

"Yaxley-Lennon has a history of violence, racism and criminal activity which he has tried to hide and point the finger at different ethnic or religious groups that do not deserve to be treated with such hate.

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"We welcome and encourage everyone to join us on Sunday, in protest against Yaxley-Lennon’s message of division.

"Our unity is our strength."

A spokeswoman for the Tommy Robinson campaign called the statement "slander" and said: "The claim that Tommy Robinson’s campaign has been the politics of hate and division couldn’t be any further from the truth."

She said Yaxley-Lennon was "always happy to engage with and debate people who are his ideological opposites", and branded those who said he was not welcome "out-of-touch elitists" who "no longer speak for the working men and women of the United Kingdom".

She said: "We have no doubt that Tommy will receive the same warm welcome in Bootle that he has received throughout his campaign in the North West."