Who is Tommy Robinson? The Karl Stefanovic guest who may have cost Australia’s famed TV host his job | Tommy Robinson
The man calling himself Tommy Robinson rose to prominence in Australia after morning TV mainstay Karl Stefanovic published an interview with Robinson for his podcast.
Robinson’s politics are well known in Britain and Europe but he has a much lower profile here. So who is the man whose presence in an interview could cost Australia’s highest-paid TV presenter his job?
Who is Tommy Robinson?
His legal name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. He took the name Tommy Robinson from the Luton Town football hooligan to hide his identity and previous convictions.
The 43-year-old father of three is an anti-Islam, far-right political activist and a key figure behind actions such as the “Unite the Kingdom” march in London last year.
How did Tommy Robinson come to prominence?
Robinson turned to activism when he lost his job as an engineering apprentice after attacking a police officer who tried to intervene to protect his girlfriend, with whom Robinson was fighting in the street.
In 2009 he founded the openly Islamophobic English Defense League, which organized rallies across the country. Robinson was convicted of assault again in 2011 for headbutting a man at a demonstration in Birmingham.
Since leaving the EDL, Robinson has rebranded himself as an independent journalist, writing for conspiracy theory-peddling publication Rebel News.
He focused on grooming gangs and repeated his central trope that Muslims in Britain “have been terrorizing our country for decades”.
Robinson went on to receive convictions and declared bankruptcy. He was convicted of violence and public order, as well as financial and immigration fraud.
He also has convictions for stalking and harassing journalists and has been twice convicted of contempt of court.
He was jailed in 2024 for repeating false allegations about a 15-year-old Syrian refugee despite a court order.
What is Tommy Robinson’s policy?
Robinson’s platform is Islamophobic and he has repeatedly called for Muslims to be removed from Britain. He described Muslims as “dirty scum” and called on people to “fight” against Islam.
His rhetoric often speculates on violence and steers clear of direct incitement.
During the civil unrest following the 2025 Southport stabbings in England, in which three teenage girls were killed and 10 others injured, Robinson said the attack was “further evidence that Islam is a mental health issue rather than a religion of peace”, amplifying false claims online that the suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker.
The attacker was British born not muslim.
Robinson speaks frequently coded languageWords like “native” are used to refer to white people. He uses the term “invader” to describe non-white populations and promotes “repatriation”, a white supremacist policy of removing non-white citizens from European countries.
He also once owned a tanning salon.
Who is Tommy Robinson affiliated with?
An important element of Robinson’s political persona is his presentation of himself as a man of the United Kingdom’s ignored working class, a representative of what he describes as the “real Britain” threatened by multiculturalism.
But Robinson also worked as an adviser to populist Ukip MP Gerard Batten and was funded by billionaires to report to Rebel News. He appeared alongside Elon Musk at rallies and was hosted by the Trump administration in early 2026 after being repeatedly denied a visa to the US (after trying to enter the country with a fake passport).
He has also been feted by the Israeli government – angering some neo-Nazi supporters – and has been a strong supporter of Russia, including its invasion of Ukraine. He toured the country in 2020, claiming to be a victim of Western censorship and praising Putin’s totalitarian regime.
Banker Nigel Farage, a Brexiteer and Reform MP, said he would not be welcome in his party. Boris Johnson called him a “far-right thug”.
Why did Karl Stefanovic’s interview with Tommy Robinson cause trouble?
Part of this was to give a man with such controversial views an hour of almost uninterrupted air time to give him an unchallenged platform to repeat lies, including lies he had previously been found in contempt of court.
This was made worse by Stefanovic’s naivety. His interview did not refute or contradict anything Robinson said.
“It’s great to talk to you face to face. I really admire your tenacity and courage in trying to defend what you believe is right,” Stefanovic told Robinson at the end of the podcast.
Robinson also touched on the politics of Australia (a country where he has twice been denied a visit visa), saying he admired Pauline Hanson as someone who defended him from “that side of the world.”
“Looking at his rise, do you know how happy I am for him? Because he went through what I went through. He was condemned, attacked, beaten, every name under the sun. And here he is. Despite all these reactions, he continues on his way.
“I’m a man. It’s not easy. So much slander for a woman, so many terrible, disgusting things he said about her. He just kept fighting. And eventually the truth comes out.”
