Tommy Robinson: EDL founder not granted US visa in time to meet Congress members in Washington

Tommy Robinson will not be able to visit Washington to speak to US Congress members this week because his visa was not granted in time.

The anti-Islam activist was invited to deliver a speech on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, but cannot legally travel to the US.

Organisers said the 35-year-old, who was jailed in 2013 for travelling to the US on a false passport, would instead address the event “via two-way video”.

Several Republican members of the US House of Representatives had organised the panel talk, which will include Robinson’s former employer Ezra Levant.

The Middle East Forum (MEF), an American think tank that has been funding pro-Robinson protests in Britain, said it originally invited Robinson for a two-day trip to Washington alongside the right-wing David Horowitz Freedom Centre.

MEF president Daniel Pipes told Reuters that Robinson had applied for a visa at the US Embassy in London but now realises it “will take a while” for him to be allowed into the country.

He said his group was still optimistic that Robinson could be granted a US visa at a later date.

Dozens of MPs from across the political spectrum had written to the US government calling on it to block Robinson’s visit.

The letter, addressed to Donald Trump’s secretary of state Mike Pompeo, raised concern that the trip could result in “media appearances to promote his violent and extremist agenda” and raise money from donors that could “organise further disruptive demonstrations in communities across the UK”.

Greg Roman, director of the MEF, previously told The Independent the English Defence League founder was invited “to demonstrate the resolve an American organisation has to allow there to be a free and open and public discussion about Islamism in the UK”.

“We’re very well aware of his controversy,” Mr Roman added, but claimed Robinson did not call for violence.

Prosecutors said Robinson’s social media posts were a key inspiration for Darren Osborne to ram a van into Muslims leaving prayers in Finsbury Park – the UK’s fourth terror attack of 2017.

He denied involvement and threatened to sue media outlets that reported evidence from the trial.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has several criminal convictions including for violence, drug possession, public order offences and fraud.

Robinson was imprisoned again in May for allegedly violating reporting restrictions on a series of linked grooming trials, but was freed on appeal in August.

He is waiting to see whether the attorney general will order another rehearing over contempt of court that could see him go back to prison.

Robinson’s imprisonment sparked a wave of support and publicity in the US, and the MEF said it had supported Robinson since May, providing legal funds and organising demonstrations.

Among the high-profile figures publicly supporting Robinson was the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr, while the US ambassador for international religious freedom raised his case with the British government.

Crowdfunding pages run by Robinson and his former employers Rebel Media have enjoyed a surge in donations since his imprisonment and last month he said there was still “a pot in excess of a few hundred thousand pounds” left after legal costs.

He vowed to launch a series of new legal claims against newspapers, police, the Home Office and prosecutors and said he was also planning to visit Australia.

But Robinson was set back by PayPal’s decision to ban him from using its payment system for donations.

In a video posted to Facebook, he said the platform had accounted for 70 per cent of his financial support and appealed to followers to use bitcoin instead.

PayPal said it does not comment on individual accounts, but said in a statement: “We do not allow PayPal services to be used to promote hate, violence, or other forms of intolerance that is discriminatory.”