British police detained anti-Islamist activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known by his alias Tommy Robinson, Saturday night immediately upon his landing in London after a visit to Russia. A police spokesperson confirmed that officers stopped the activist, who is in his 40s, questioned him for about three hours, and confiscated his communication devices for examination.
The move came following intense protests that erupted in Belfast, which developed after a video of a severe stabbing went viral online. The detention of Robinson, considered one of Europe’s most prominent voices supporting Israeli policy, comes just months after his official visit to Israel strengthened his ties with Jerusalem’s political leadership.
Robinson quickly updated his millions of followers on the social media platform X about his detention, saying he was held for about three hours by security forces under sections of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act. In his statement, he emphasized that police seized his cell phone and called for public help: “My phone has been confiscated by police. Please help mobilize my legal defense fund.”
A British police spokesperson confirmed details of the incident and the seizure of technological devices: “The man was questioned by officers and his communication devices were confiscated. He was then released.”
The background to Robinson’s immediate detention lies in the extensive coverage and numerous posts he published last week regarding events in Belfast. The riots in Northern Ireland flared following a disturbing video circulated on social networks showing a man being brutally stabbed and losing his eye. Following the incident, a Sudanese citizen was arrested and charged with attempted murder, with local police noting it was not a terror incident.
The publication sparked significant public outrage among local residents, who took to the streets and directed their protest toward businesses and residences of immigrants, while local politicians claimed that activists on social networks helped coordinate and distribute footage from the scene.
For Robinson, public activism in Britain and unqualified support for Israel combine in his strategic worldview. He sees the State of Israel as the central and most important front in the global struggle against radical Islam and the Islamization of Europe, and holds a firm view he voices at every platform: “If Israel falls — we all fall.”