June 26, 2010

The BNP past of the EDL leader

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Nick Lowles and Simon Cressy expose Tommy Robinson

Searchlight can exclusively reveal that the leader of the English Defence League is a former British National Party member who has served 12 months’ imprisonment for assaulting an off-duty police officer.

Self-proclaimed EDL leader Tommy Robinson is really Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, from Bedford.

In 2004 he joined the BNP with a family membership. In the same year he assaulted an off-duty police officer who intervened to stop a domestic incident between Yaxley-Lennon and his partner Jenna Vowles. During the scuffle Yaxley-Lennon kicked the officer in the head.

He was convicted on 18 April 2005 for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, for which he was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, and assault with intent to resist arrest, for which he received a concurrent term of three months.

Vowles, also a BNP member, was cautioned for possession of cocaine. She told the court that the she found two empty bags in her house and was taking them out so that her parents did not find them.

Yaxley-Lennon attended Putteridge High School in Luton and moved to nearby Bedford more recently. Robinson also claims on his Facebook site that he attended Putteridge school.

The revelation that Robinson had been a member of the BNP explains why so many of the initial EDL activists also attended BNP meetings in the Luton/Bedford area.

More importantly, it dispels the myth that the roots of the EDL are not in hard-core racism.

It destroys the protestations by the EDL leadership that, “They aren’t the BNP and they aren’t Nazis,” made at their phoney press conference held last September in a disused Luton warehouse, where they unfurled a swastika flag and proceeded to try to set it alight for the cameras.

It also explains the real reason why Robinson felt the need to hide his face.


Robinson’s reaction on Facebook to his exposure
Robinson’s reaction on Facebook to his exposure


Apart from his BNP membership and his convictions for violence, Robinson told a BBC film crew that he lived in a part of Luton where Islamic fanatics lived and that he feared for his safety. The reality is somewhat different as he lives in Wilstead, a relatively leafy village on the outskirts of Bedford.

The exposure of his identity follows a split in the EDL that is mostly being fought over the internet.

Paul Ray, self-styled spiritual guru of the EDL, has posted a series of messages on his Lionheart blog, in which he and his friend Nick Greger announce their intention to take control of the EDL. Ray was the original mover in creating the EDL, although he quickly fell out with the other leaders and moved abroad to Malta. Ray has focused his efforts on making Crusader-themed anti-Muslim promotional videos, and he and Greger have just issued a notice of “expulsion” of the EDL’s leaders, together with a demand for control of the EDL’s websites.

In one of their videos Greger goes on to say “another well-known man will soon appear within the new leadership, a man from Ulster, who is also currently in exile”.

The real face of the EDL leader: Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, alias   Tommy Robinson

This is almost certainly a reference to Greger’s friend Johnny Adair, a prominent loyalist terrorist who now lives in Scotland following an intra-loyalist feud. Adair’s friendship with Greger was the subject of a television documentary in 2006, when Adair met Greger while in prison for plotting acts of terror and was then the head of a nazi group in Dresden, Germany.

It is thought that Ray and Greger were responsible for the appearance of a video on YouTube that unveiled Robinson as Stephen Yaxley along with a series of photographs, following outlandish claims by Ray that the EDL led by Robinson threatened to kidnap and harm members of Ray’s family.

Robinson later confirmed on his Facebook page that the photographs were indeed of him, saying, “Hey at least people can see my hansome [sic] face now”.


Hope Not Hate

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

"In one of their videos Greger goes on to say “another well-known man will soon appear within the new leadership, a man from Ulster, who is also currently in exile”.

This is almost certainly a reference to Greger’s friend Johnny Adair, a prominent loyalist terrorist who now lives in Scotland following an intra-loyalist feud."


The irony of a former terrorist being in leadership of a group opposed to Islamic Extremism

Anonymous said...

Obviously not violent enough for him.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely brilliant stuff.

Well done Searchlight.

Anonymous said...

Well this should help your cause shouldn't it?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1289654/Iraqi-asylum-cheat-got-700-000-benefits-houses-private-school-son.html

Anonymous said...

Hooray! the truth at last.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/7856787/Violent-inner-city-crime-the-figures-and-a-question-of-race.html

Anonymous said...

Superb piece of research from Nick Lowles and his team. They are a real credit to anti-Fascism.

Anonymous said...

"“another well-known man will soon appear within the new leadership, a man from Ulster, who is also currently in exile”

Adair was also an NF activist as well as being UFF/UDA.

Now he's in the EDL?

Catholics in the EDL please take note.

Anonymous said...

"The reality is somewhat different as he lives in Wilstead, a relatively leafy village on the outskirts of Bedford"

The double-barrelled surname points to him being middle class as well. Probably a toff "wanna-be" who likes posing as a hard man.

NewsHound said...

BREAKING NEWS: YOUNG EDL SUPPORTER ARRESTED MAKING NAIL BOMBS USING CHEMICALS BOUGHT ON EBAY: -

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/7855025/Boy-made-nailbombs-with-chemicals-bought-on-eBay.html

(TO USE IN BRADFORD???)

june said...

What a racist, violent neo-Nazi dickhead.

I bet, like Tommy Robinson, he's working with special branch in return for "partiality favours".

Anonymous said...

Seems strange that having made his name assaulting cops, he became a snitch.

I guess they have plenty more into that could have him banged up at a minute's notice if he refused to cooperate.

Anonymous said...

Fascists must truly loathe the wonderful searchlight.

Anonymous said...

It destroys the protestations by the EDL leadership that, “They aren’t the BNP and they aren’t Nazis".

Indeed, they are NEO-NAZIS, every last man jack of the leadership...

Anonymous said...

The tabloid newspapers the Mail, Sun and Star should carry this story to let the people know the EDL's violent hardcore nazi pedigree.

Or don't they want people to know.

Hopefully this info can be used when Searchlight take to the streets of Bradford to try to ban the EDL's forthcoming large-scale deadly riot.

Anonymous said...

When the boss snorts coke, so many of his violent football thug nazis follow suit, allegedly snorting charlie in Wetherspoons pub toilets.

Anonymous said...

Leeds EDL now contain (slightly older) BPP members.

loinah said...

Just read this at Casuals United: -
"If anyones wondering why the Casuals United people seem to have vanished from facebook, you may be unaware that the group recently announced that they had a “trusted hardcore” of 500 who were, according to the announcement by Leeds organiser Mark Lee “going underground”, which they say means they will continue to protest against Militant iSLAM, HATE PREACHERS and Sharia law, but they have dropped Facebook as “full of numpties” and they will now be a closed group, who communicate exclusively by phone/text and will turn up to protest with no prior warning, which they say will prevent trouble because according to them, when our lads have turned up with no prior warning at hate venues, Communist agitators are unable to mobilise screaming students to cause trouble".

It seems like the Leeds EDL (Service Crew amd BPP members) are going to be a closed division of EDL which will act like a modern-day Combat 18.

Except Special Branch are being kept informed via "Robinson" and friends, since the Sheffield incident.

Searchlight should get uncover with the Leeds EDL.

P.S.; - Walked past some really dodgy fascists down Park Row in Leeds late yesterday afternoon, arranging to meet at Leeds bus station, talking about not getting too drunk, planning something worrying.

Anonymous said...

Like the BNP, their idealogical neo-fascist cousins the EDL are jam-packed full of criminals.

Which is why they are planning an orgy of extreme violence in bradford in august to go out on a high using petrol bombs, hammers and bottles.

Anonymous said...

Just goes to prove that as with BNP the EDL are run by middle-class career nazis.

Anonymous said...

Interesting post Ioinah. Seems like some in the EDL want to follow the logic of their hooligan roots and become a secretive, closed group who avoid mass mobilisations in favour of targeted and much smaller actions.

La Di Da Gunner Graham said...

Regarding that Daily Mail story, this should set you straight:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBT6OSr1TI

Anonymous said...

I've spoken a couple of times to Paul Day and he told me that more revelations were coming with regard to the EDL and neo-Nazis within the leadership. It seems he was right.

Anonymous said...

Great bit of trolling on here by someone talking up the BPP! Little Kev and his bag of glue are not the Aryan saviours.

Never mind Kate Dermented, we haven't forgotten about you really.