Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, the man who trades under the alter-ego “Tommy Robinson” like some pound shop superhero, has issued an ill-tempered defence of his jet-set lifestyle in the face of a recent wave of criticism, not least of all from sections of the far right.
And it is, we must say, intensely moving stuff. A profound and deeply-felt: “Fuck you!”
No apologies
In a video on X, filmed presumably between courses, our humble man of the people explains that he is absolutely not apologising for eating at expensive restaurants every day, touring America with his son, accepting luxury accommodation from wealthy benefactors, or being flown about by Alex Jones.
Not one bit. Not even slightly. And frankly, how dare you suggest he should.
“I’ll enjoy my fillet steak,” he declared, with the scornful fury of a man who clearly believes himself above criticism. “In fact, I’ll get the biggest one on the menu.”
“All those people having a bitch, I think, ‘You know what? Fuck you!’
“I’ll enjoy my fillet steak. In fact, I’ll get the biggest one on the menu. Yeah? That’s what I’ll do…
“…I’m going to enjoy every minute”.
Financial elasticity
Searchlight has spent years documenting what Robinson’s curious financial elasticity: apparently bankrupt when courts come calling, yet mysteriously solvent when it comes to luxury foreign holidays, private security, or a new media venture.
The most recent focus has been on the ostentatious online displays of wealth by his 16-year-old son Spencer, who obligingly posted photos of himself by a private jet, in the rear of a luxury car, and poolside in some luxury resort.
Robinson explanation for all of this is disarmingly simple: other people are paying. Alex Jones books the flights. Podcasters cover the meals. Friends offer the houses.
He’s not rich, he’s just extraordinarily well-looked-after by a rotating cast of generous American conservatives. This is not a lifestyle; it is, apparently, a mission. A sacred duty to “awaken America.”
Unfortunately, it doesn’t dispose of the pictures of Spencer sporting some £100,000 worth of watches, but, hey, we can’t expect everything.
His son’s Instagram snaps had already rather complicated the poverty narrative, appearing as they did only shortly after Robinson senior had been pleading with supporters to “send funds to pay for the security of me and my family” after a supposed threat from ISIS.
Spencer’s Insta account was hurriedly made private whilst it was scrubbed clean of incriminating content. It has now been returned, sanitised, to public view but the screenshots, as they say, are eternal.
Cheekiest grift
This might go down as Robinson’s cheekiest grift, were it not that the competition is pretty stiff. There was, after all, 2024’s masterpiece when he faced contempt of court charges: “send money for my legal defence” – an appeal which raised over £200,000 whereupon he promptly pleaded guilty.
But the question lingers: if you have all these wealthy friends happy to stump up to provide for your every luxurious desire, why on earth do you need all these fundraising appeals at all?
Just asking…
And it all sits rather uncomfortably alongside his recent claim to UK court bailiffs, chasing £103,000 in costs, that he has absolutely no assets.
Martyred in luxury
But fear not, for he is working “from 7 in the morning to 11 at night.” He hasn’t seen any of these American cities he is visiting and plaguing with local far-right podcasts. He hasn’t been in the sun. He is, by his own account, a martyr who just happens to subsist entirely on luxury.
“So God bless you all” he signs off. “God bless the United States of America”.
And, presumably, God bless whoever’s picking up the tab.
