Tommy Robinson says he has fled abroad after alleged arson attack

Anti-Islam activist says he left while facing defamation trial at home

Tommy Robinson says he has left the UK and is seeking to permanently relocate abroad as he believes his family is no longer safe at home.

In a video posted to his followers on social media, Robinson said he had left the country with his wife and children and was looking to relocate permanently after what he alleged was an “arson” attack against his family home.

"I had a problem quite a few weeks ago with an arson," he claimed in the video. "It was targeted against my property ... my wife's property. At that point we left the country straight away."

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, claimed to have footage of the arson, though no video has emerged.

Bedfordshire Police said it did not have a record of house arson linked to Robinson's family, but had received a report of a car being set on fire in June, without providing further details.

Robinson did not mention where he planned to relocate his family to, nor where they were currently staying.

“Someone gave us somewhere to stay so we left the country,” Robinson said in the video.

He did however note that he would not be returning to the UK as planned due to a change in quarantine rules for those arriving from foreign countries.

“I was due to be flying back [to the UK] for a demonstration. Obviously now with this 14-day quarantine, if I fly back I probably won’t get back out.”

This comment led many to presume he was in Spain, due to the recently imposed travel quarantine rules affecting that country.

Back in the UK, the anti-Islam activist faces a defamation trial over remarks made about a Syrian refugee boy who made headlines when he was filmed being attacked at his school in Huddersfield.

The family of 17-year-old Jamal Hijazi are seeking £100,000 in damages in the case which could go to trial if not settled outside of court.

Representatives for the teenager allege that claims made about him by Robinson on social media made him “the focus of countless messages of hate and threats from the extreme right wing”.

Robinson claimed the alleged arson was not related to his anti-Islam campaigning.

He said the attack took place “after the [Black Lives Matter] stuff” and that he believed he knew who was responsible.

During the early days of the Black Lives Matter protests in London, Robinson incited his followers in strong terms to attend a protest in Parliament Square sparked by fears that the statue of Winston Churchill was under threat from anti-racism protesters.

He later announced that he did not attend the protest himself, claiming: “I don’t want to be responsible for more racial division.”

The alleged arson is not the first incident to lead Robinson to allegedly seek refuge abroad. When facing jail time last year over contempt of court, he pleaded with Donald Trump to be granted political asylum in the United States.

His request was not met and he later served two months in HMP Belmarsh.