A GLASGOW dad has launched a crowdfunder to take Tommy Robinson to court for defamation.
Quroum Beg found himself at the centre of a misinformation storm fanned by the far-right agitator in July this year after standing up against a march of anti-immigration protesters who descended on his local park.
We told how the dad-of-three was subjected to death threats after being targeted by Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, and other far-right accounts on social media.
On Twitter/X, Robinson then falsely accused Beg of being an “invader” and filming children in the park, before later deleting the tweet, but it was viewed hundreds of thousands of times before it was taken down.
Robinson initially apologised but then returned to X to say he was “not sorry at all”.
The footage went viral on various social media platforms by far-right accounts who shared the false accusations.
Beg has now launched a Crowdjustice fundraiser so that he can take legal action against Robinson.
The 43-year-old is hoping to raise £50,000 to hold Robinson to account for his false claims in the Scottish courts.
Beg will be represented by Glasgow lawyers Bannatyne, Kirkwood, France & Co, the largest media law practice in Scotland which specialises in defamation.
“Despite the work that I’ve done to counter the narrative and defend my reputation, there’s still videos out there, there’s a Spanish version of it, there’s videos in other languages,” Beg told The National.
“And actually, Tommy Robinson’s tweets are still up. He deleted the original one, but the other ones are still there and for me, the main thing is I can’t be sure that he won’t do it again to someone else.
“I’ll feel responsible for that. I’m somebody that can articulate or at least try to fight back, there are people who might let this go and I feel a sense of responsibility to just see this through.”
Beg added that he would be selling personal items to raise money for the legal case.
“I just don't feel like I can go to the public and ask for every single penny,” he added.
He explained that he wanted to make it clear to anyone who would be willing to donate that he wouldn’t take any financial benefit from it, even if he did win an eventual case. Beg said that anyone who supported the crowdfunder would be backing him to “make this stand” against Robinson and misinformation.
Beg told The National that he has had to seek mental health support after being targeted with online misinformation.
His crowdfunder reads: “I’m raising funds to take this through the courts and hold Tommy Robinson to account under Scotland’s defamation law. It’s not about revenge – it’s whether a lie should be allowed to travel further and faster than the truth, just because it has a bigger platform behind it.”
Any funds raised will be “solely for legal costs” and none will go to Beg personally, it adds.
“I don’t have rich friends. I don’t have a billionaire as an ally. I have ordinary people like you.
“Real people. But that’s more than enough. We can stand up. They can’t fake that.
“Every little helps, and it means you’re standing with me in this, not just watching from the side.”
You can view Beg’s Crowdjustice fundraiser here.
