Tommy Robinson banned from Facebook and Instagram for breaking rules on ‘organised hate’

Activist Tommy Robinson has had his official Facebook page and Instagram profile removed because he has posted “in ways that violate our policies around organised hate”, according to the social network.

Facebook said Robinson’s page had “repeatedly broken these standards, posting material that uses dehumanising language and calls for violence targeted at Muslims”.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had amassed more than one million followers on Facebook, where he regular posts live videos and appeals for donations.

He said he had not heard of his ban from Facebook, claiming the "corrupt media and the establishment" were trying "to silence any opposition to their globalist plans".

He was banned from Twitter in March 2018 and removed from PayPal in November. His last remaining official profile on a mainstream social network is YouTube where he has nearly 300,000 subscribers.

Emails and tweets from Robinson were used as evidence in the trial of Darren Osborne, who was convicted of murder for driving a van into worshippers outside two mosques in London, to show his path of "radicalisation" before committing the attack in June 2017.

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation who has campaigned against grooming gangs in Rochdale from within the Pakistani community, said he welcomed the ban and claimed he had met with Facebook representatives to "discuss the concern of the British Muslim community that Tommy Robinson's continued presence on social media was leading to further radicalisation of his supporters".

"This is not about free speech or silencing criticism or questioning of Islam and Muslims, this is about hate speech and hatred towards one community,"

Mr Shafiq said, adding that he had contacted Google and YouTube to urge them to take similar action.