Tommy Robinson claims he has been arrested in Mexico, separated from his children and faces deportation for “national security reasons”.
The far-right English Defence League (EDL) co-founder, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has shared a video of himself allegedly being detained by security at Cancun Airport.
In the footage, posted on his Telegram account, the 39-year-old says he flew to Mexico with his three children for an Easter holiday but was detained at the airport.
The children have been left with Robinson’s friend, he said, and their mother is now flying out to collect them.
Robinson tells the camera: “I have been arrested, separated from my kids and now I’m being deported as a matter of national security” as he shows what he says is a security holding cell.
He is told the reason for his arrest is “confidential” and has come directly from Mexico City, in an interaction with what appears to be an airport staff member.
“I’ve never broken a law here. All I do at home is talk about Islam”, says Robinson.
“I’ve never caused a problem, landed for what is clearly a family holiday, and I’ve been arrested, detained and separated from my kids.”
In another clip, he complains about it being hard for him to live in England because he can’t open a bank account or rent a house.
Robinson has been convicted in the UK for fraud, stalking, assault, using someone else’s passport, using threatening behaviour and contempt of court.
Last week he failed to appear at the High Court for questioning over his finances in connection with unpaid legal bills after he lost a libel case brought against him by a Syrian teenager last year.
The EDL founder was successfully sued by Jamal Hijazi after the then 15-year-old was assaulted at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, in October 2018.
Shortly after a video of the incident went viral, Robinson claimed in two Facebook videos that Mr Hijazi was “not innocent and he violently attacks young English girls in his school”, claims a High Court judge later found to be false.
After a pre-trial hearing for the libel case in November 2020, Robinson was ordered to pay more than £43,000 in legal costs. He declared bankruptcy about four months later.
