Oh Tommy Tommy - THE MONEY

Last seen lying low somewhere supposedly out of reach of law enforcement agencies while promoting his upcoming exposé on all those Scary Muslims™, Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson, has once again found himself the subject of mainstream media attention, and once again, it is for all the wrong reasons.

Lennon declared himself bankrupt last March. The month before that, he and his wife Jenna had divorced. These events occurred before the defamation trial at the High Court where Lennon defended himself in a case brought on behalf of teenager Jamal Hijazi, a case that Lennon lost. As a result, he owes around $1.5 million in legal costs, plus another £100,000 in damages. There are other creditors after him, as the BBC has reported.

They “include HMRC, a former business partner and Barrow-In-Furness Borough Council”. During that defamation trial, as the Beeb report notes, Lennon “failed to convince the High Court his claims that Jamal Hijazi had attacked ‘young English girls’ in his school in Huddersfield were true … The legal costs are before any accrued interest”.

Those creditors have a significant interest in recovering their money before Lennon emerges from bankruptcy in March. So, one might think, might all those who donated to his appeals over recent years. Put directly, they, and the official receiver, would very much like to know where all the money went. Has Lennon been effectively hiding his assets?

For instance, his ex-wife “owns a large detached house in Bedfordshire where there have been extensive building works over the autumn and winter, including the creation of a gym in the old double garage, and a games room above a new garage being built in the garden … [Lennon] has been seen at the house talking to builders, sometimes with his ex-wife and sometimes alone, according to anti-fascism activists”. But it’s not his house, right?

Even though it may be worth around £1.2 million. Which brings us to a group that has not always appeared to be in the corner of those targeted by Lennon. I can’t speak for all the others whose lives were interrupted by having him rock up on the doorstep - in my case, in the dead of night, and twice - but my recollection is that Hope Not Hate covered Lennon’s first visit, yet later on went quiet. Still, at least they’re after Lennon now.

As the BBC report tells, “The anti-fascism campaign group Hope not Hate is fundraising to pay for the cost of the independent insolvency expert, Heath Sinclair of Richard Long & co … The expert has until 3 March to try to find any assets or money that Robinson could be hiding, otherwise he will come out of bankruptcy without having to pay all the money he owe … the creditors hope the independent expert will uncover more assets”.

HnH “believes [Lennon] may have access to up to £3m in assets earned through property, investments, donations and book sales”. Note the phrasing: “may have access to”. That’s the problem - demonstrating that those assets, if found, are really Lennon’s, and are being effectively hidden away to prevent his creditors from being paid.

So good of HnH to throw their expertise behind the campaign. Let’s hope they remain highly visible and help see off Lennon’s latest campaign, which could cause serious unrest within the Telford area, and elsewhere. Anti-fascism needs their support. And yours.

Enjoy your visit to Zelo Street? You can help this truly independent blog carry on talking truth to power, while retaining its sense of humour, by becoming a Patron on Patreon at

https://www.patreon.com/Timfenton