Tommy Robinson’s Musk-funded Russia trip spurs call to defend UK democracy | Tommy Robinson
Ed Davey says Britain must do more to defend its democracy after it was revealed Elon Musk’s family foundation took far-right activist Tommy Robinson to Russia.
The father of the billionaire tech mogul told the Guardian that Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was brought to Russia by the Musks.
Robinson appeared in Moscow last month and called on his supporters to take to the streets following the stabbing attack in Belfast. He shared a video of himself with Errol Musk, a vocal supporter of his son Robinson, at a luxury hotel in Moscow.
The Liberal Democrat leader said: “Tommy Robinson is a useful idiot for a hostile state. What kind of so-called British patriots, funded by a US trillionaire, are jetting to Moscow to rub shoulders with Putin’s cronies?”
“We must protect our democracy from far-right thugs, shady tech bros, and foreign interference.”
“I brought him to Russia,” Errol Musk said, adding that both men had meetings with Russian businessmen. He said the trip was paid for by the Musk Foundation, a private charity founded by Elon Musk and his brother Kimbal.
His visit to Moscow comes at a time when the Kremlin and its proxies are establishing connections with European far-right figures. At the same time as Robinson’s visit, Russia was also home to influential self-described misogynist Andrew Tate and his brother, who published images of themselves firing guns and riding in a tank alongside the Russian military.
British police stopped Robinson on his return to Russia and confiscated his phones. Robinson had previously visited the country a few years ago, but this time he made his praise for Russia more explicit, sharing images of ultra-nationalists sharing footage of a rally in memory of murdered British teenager Henry Nowak.
Errol Musk, who travels to St Petersburg every year for the Kremlin-backed economic forum, said Robinson was a “good young man”.
Errol Musk stated that he had traveled to Russia in the past and met Vladimir Putin at one point, and said, “He is very irritable, but he is also learning.” A Russophile who said he believed Moscow had a “genetic advantage” over the west, he holds firmly pro-Russian positions on the conflict in Ukraine.
Among the issues discussed in meetings with Robinson were Russia’s attempts to address the decline in births. “Tommy actually attended these meetings,” he said.
The senior Musk said he became familiar with Robinson after the far-right activist was imprisoned. Robinson has a number of convictions but came into the spotlight especially after he was sent to prison for disobeying a court order.
“So I contacted Tommy and I was asked on British television what I thought of Tommy,” he said.
After visiting Russia last month, Robinson said he came to see “the beauty of a civilized society.”
The link has once again raised questions about UK authorities’ continued use of X, which belongs to Elon Musk. The Ministry of Culture, Media and Sport said it would stop using the platform because it “now favors abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate.”
Liberal Democrat MP Luke Taylor said: “Elon Musk is hostile to British values and we must break our addiction to his hateful algorithm.”
Matthew Ford, a British security expert and associate professor at the Swedish Defense University, wrote of Bluesky: “The owner of X and a friend of the president of our No. 1 ally is paying to send an extremist British nationalist to Russia to collude against British democracy.”
He questioned how the new policies could prevent “seemingly friendly foreign actors from subverting British democracy without appearing to validate the free speech arguments they use as weapons to resist regulation”.
