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Tommy Robinson has complained his family holiday to a luxury Cypriot resort has been ruined by journalists who revealed his location after he was accused of stoking far-right riots in the UK.
The English Defence League (EDL) founder, 41, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, said he had left Cyprus and moved his children to Athens, Greece, but denied being on the run ahead of a High Court appearance in October.
Robinson said he had booked the Mediterranean break to spend time with his family and friends. He is thought to have left Britain last week ahead of a scheduled hearing in a contempt of court case. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.
But he claimed he feared his family had been put in danger after his location was revealed as he was accused of stoking riots in England and Northern Ireland over the weekend.
In a social media video filmed while he ate at a Greek meze restaurant, the anti-Islam activist accused reporters of giving away his location after pictures emerged of him sunbathing poolside at a five-star resort.
He told his 940,000 followers on X that journalists: “Have destroyed a family holiday when I was with my children.
He added: “Let’s get the record straight I didn’t flee the country because of the riots I left the country before any riots.
“I held a 100,000 strong peaceful protest then riots kicked off in Liverpool that had nothing to do with me. In all my videos I have called for peace and calm.
“To the journalists, I’m not on the run stop lying. I’m due in the High Court in London on October 28 and 29 stick the date in your diary, people.
From Greece, Robinson continued to share videos of disorder despite anti-racist protesters being widely praised by police chiefs for their “display of unity” and lack of violence in responding to a list of 30 immigration office targets for far-right dotted across the country.
He accused “armed Muslims” of running through Croydon “looking for the ghost of the EDL” and attacking emergency workers.
It came after Cypriot police said they stood ready to assist their British counterparts take action against Robinson if needed.
Under a court order imposed in 2021, Robinson was barred from repeating allegations he made against a Syrian refugee, Jamal Hijazi, who sued him for libel after the then-schoolboy was assaulted at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, in October 2018.
After a clip of the incident went viral, Robinson made false claims, including about Mr Hijazi attacking girls in his school, leading to the libel case.
Mr Justice Nicklin ordered Robinson to pay Mr Hijazi £100,000 in damages and his legal costs, as well as making the injunction preventing Robinson from repeating the allegations he made against the then-teenager.
The High Court heard last month that Robinson had been part of a demonstration in central London, which featured the screening of a film that was a “flagrant” and “admitted” breach of the injunction.
Robinson was banned from Twitter in 2018, but allowed to return by Elon Musk. Analytics published by Robinson last week showed that his posts had been viewed 1.2 billion times in the three months to August.
