Tommy Robinson detained at Heathrow under counter-terrorism laws after week of unrest
Tommy Robinson was detained by police on Saturday at Heathrow airport under counter-terrorism laws, following a week in which he gained more prominence on social media.
It is understood that the far-right activist, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was stopped and had his phones seized under section 3 of the Counter-Terrorism Border Security Act 2019.
Robinson used social media to claim he was detained for almost three hours and had his iPhone and Samsung Galaxy phones taken, while also asking his supporters to donate money to fund his legal defense.
A spokesperson for Robinson posted on X: “They likely want to see who he is talking to, and maybe find out who his sources are, sources who will expose politicians for their part in the rape of a generation of British girls.
“This is an attack on free speech, this is an attack on investigative journalism, nothing more nothing less.”
The 2019 act gives police officers at ports the powers to stop, question, search, and detain people suspected of traveling to plan, prepare, and carry out hostile acts.
It was not known what the stop of Robinson was in relation to, and the Metropolitan police declined to comment when approached.
Robinson, 43, has recently risen to prominence amid racial tensions across Britain, in response to police body-worn footage showing the death of 18-year-old Henry Nowak while in police custody in Southampton.
The former English Defence League leader led protests in the Hampshire city, during which clashes between rioters and police left 13 officers and a police dog injured.
He also amplified footage of the moment when a man, believed to be a Sudanese asylum seeker, wielded a knife over another man he had pinned to the ground in Belfast in a suspected attempted murder on Monday.
Robinson posted details of planned demonstrations across Britain and Northern Ireland on X. Elon Musk shared the post with his 240 million followers.
Robinson was previously cleared of a terror charge after refusing to give police access to his phone in July 2024, when he was stopped by officers at the Channel tunnel in Folkestone while driving a friend’s silver Bentley to Benidorm in Spain.
Robinson refused to provide officers with the pin to his phone during the stop, arguing that the device contained confidential journalistic material. A district judge concluded he could not be sure the police stop was lawful.
Editor-in-Chief
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
