Tommy Robinson: patriotic crusader or rabble-rousing racist?

The incendiary activist's unceremonious removal from a march against antisemitism has sparked a row about 'police over-reach'

Photo: Shayan Barjesteh van Waalwijk van Doorn

Tommy Robinson. The mere utterance of the man’s name is usually enough to spark the most impassioned outpourings of admiration and antipathy. A patriotic crusader for freedom and traditional values over medieval barbarians and extremists, or a racist rabble-rousing convict hell-bent on stoking hate and division?

Whenever I make mention of Robinson on social media, I receive the full gamut of responses, from those in awe of ‘fearless Tommy’ and his campaign for truth in the face of a personal vendetta driven by the media and our woke authorities, to those who consider that, well, he’s a polarising charlatan who deserves everything he gets (and more).

So when Robinson was unceremoniously carted off by the Metropolitan police at last weekend’s march against antisemitism, opinions on the merits of his treatment divided, so far as I could see, along the usual tribal lines. Either Robinson was the victim of an outrageous abuse of authority on the part of London’s finest, or he was a clear and present danger to marchers, who were quite within their rights to demand his removal from the area.

For what it’s worth, here’s what I think.