Tommy Robinson thanks Elon Musk after early release from prison
Tommy Robinson has been released from prison early (@TRobinsonNewEra)
Tommy Robinson has been released from prison early (@TRobinsonNewEra)
Right-wing activist Tommy Robinson thanked Elon Musk after he walked free from prison following early release this week.
Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – was jailed for 18 months in October 2024 for contempt of court after breaching a 2021 injunction against him, which barred the right-wing activist from repeating false claims made against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him for libel.
The 18-month sentence was reduced by at the High Court last week and Robinson, 42, left HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes on Tuesday (27 May).
Speaking to his supporters via a live stream on X, the former leader of the anti-immigration group the English Defence League – whose hair and beard had grown long during his time in prison – said he felt “good” about his release.
“I have to say a thank you to Elon Musk, because without X, if we didn’t have X, everyone would just think I lied. No one would have got any other narrative,” Robinson said.
“These attempts at censorship, to silence, to cancel people, it hasn’t worked. You’ve attempted to lock up the truth. And that truth has been echoed around the entire globe.”
During his prison sentence Robinson received support from tech billionaire and “First Buddy” Musk, who described him as “political prisoner” and called for him to be “freed” in posts shared on X – the platform he owns which was previously known as Twitter.
When Musk made the statements, he was also in the middle of publishing a wide series of inflammatory posts about UK prime minister Keir Starmer and safeguarding minister Jess Phillips.
The attacks on the Labour government were made in regards to the government’s response to historic cases of child sexual exploitation gangs of mainly south Asian heritage in the north of England, a scandal which came to light in the early 2010s under the former Conservative government.
Musk was particularly critical of Starmer for his record as director of public prosecutions, a position he held between 2008 and 2013.
Taking aim at the PM, Musk called for him to be jailed and said the Labour leader is “complicit in the rape of Britain” and “deeply complicit in the mass rapes in exchange for votes” whilst also describing Phillips as a “wicked witch” and “rape genocide apologist”.
Musk also went on to write that far-right Reform UK leader Nigel Farage – who had previously hoped for donations from Musk – did “not have what it takes” to lead the party after he distanced himself from Robinson.
“The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes,” Musk wrote on X, proceeding to endorse Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe – one of Reform’s five members of parliament – as a replacement.
Musk said he has not met Lowe but “his statements online that I have read so far make a lot of sense”.
Commenting on the matter at the time, Farage told GB News: “[Musk] sees Robinson as one of these people that fought against the grooming gangs. But of course the truth is Tommy Robinson’s in prison not for that, but for contempt of court.
“We’re a political party aiming to win the next general election. [Robinson is] not what we need.”
