After visiting the Russian capital, Robinson landed at Heathrow Airport in London where he was stopped by British authorities under the country’s anti-terror laws.

The British citizen journalist and anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson claims that he was stopped and interrogated by police at Heathrow Airport in London on Saturday after returning from a trip to Russia via Turkey. According to Robinson, he was detained for nearly three hours and had his mobile phones confiscated.

Robinson wrote on social media that the intervention was carried out under Schedule 3 of the UK’s Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019. This provision allows authorities to stop, question, and examine people at the border to investigate possible connection to hostile activity targeted against the United Kingdom.

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The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that a man in his 40s was stopped at Heathrow after returning to the UK from Russia via Turkey. The man was interrogated, his electronic communication devices were seized, and he was later released without being arrested. The police have not publicly commented on the specific reasons for the intervention.

The incident occurred after a week in which Robinson was very active on social media with posts about unrest following a high-profile knife attack in Belfast. A Sudanese man has been charged with attempted murder after the attack. In the days that followed, violent riots broke out where homes and businesses were targeted. British authorities have said the knife attack is not being investigated as terrorism.

Met with Musk

British media also report that during his visit to Russia, Robinson met Elon Musk’s father, Errol Musk, in Moscow and published several posts expressing positive opinions about Russia. Security experts have pointed out that British authorities are increasingly scrutinizing possible foreign influence operations and activities linked to foreign states.

Robinson has previously been stopped by British police under similar legislation. In 2024, authorities pressed charges after he refused to give up the code to his mobile phone at a border control, but he was later acquitted by the court.

After Saturday’s intervention, Robinson described the incident as an attack on freedom of speech and urged his followers to contribute to his legal costs.

Fact: Tommy Robinson

Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is a British right-wing nationalist and anti-Islam activist. He became known as one of the founders of the English Defence League (EDL) in 2009, which organized demonstrations against Islamism and what it described as the Islamization of Britain.

Robinson has been a controversial figure in British politics and public debate for many years. Supporters see him as a critic of Islamism and the authorities’ handling of, among other things, grooming gangs, while critics accuse him of fueling anti-Muslim sentiment and extremism.

He has been convicted several times for various crimes, including public order offenses, fraud, and contempt-of-court-related violations. In recent years, he has mainly been active as an opinion maker on social media and through public campaigns regarding immigration, Islam, and freedom of speech in the UK.

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