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The hosting of Tommy Robinson by the Trump administration has been condemned by British MPs amid calls for the US to be included in a probe into foreign interference in UK politics.
The far-right activist, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is being feted in the US, where he met figures including a political appointee at the Department of State in Washington DC and a congressman.
The visit has prompted questions about how Robinson – a former member of the extreme-right British National party and a leader in recent decades of street protests that have often turned violent – was able to overcome a previous ban on entering the US.
Given his criminal convictions – include for fraud, violence, drug possession and attempting to enter the US in 2012 using a false passport – it is highly likely that US authorities will have intervened to allow him to enter on a discretionary basis.
While Robinson has long enjoyed US links – most recently in the form of what he claimed was Elon Musk’s funding to fight a criminal case last year – the visit comes after alarm at the Trump administration’s unveiling of a national security strategy in December that aligned US interests with European far-right politicians.
Having reinvented himself as a self-styled journalist, Robinson has been eagerly attempting to access an audience among Trump’s base on a platform of anti-Muslim rhetoric and claims that freedom of speech is under threat in the UK.
The Trump administration’s hosting of Robinson was described as “a wake-up call” by Calum Miller, the Liberal Democrat MP and foreign affairs spokesperson.
“The government needs to include the US in their inquiry into foreign interference in UK politics,” he said, referring to an ongoing independent review into foreign financial interference in the UK’s political and electoral systems.
“We cannot stand by while the likes of Trump and Musk meddle in our democracy.”
While Keir Starmer has not held back on criticising Robinson’s activities in the past, commenting may be tricky given the prime minister’s eagerness not to upset the unpredictable US president. A Downing Street spokesperson was reluctant to be drawn on Robinson, but said: “First and foremost, he’s not a representative of the UK.”
However, Labour MPs did not hold back, including Emily Thornberry, chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee.
“Yaxley-Lennon is being touted around Washington as a ‘free speech warrior’. We need to engage this administration on the difference between that and incitement to violence and racial hatred. There should be no place in any democracy for the latter,” she said.
Calvin Bailey, a Labour MP on the Commons defence select committee, described Robinson as “an enemy of Britain and our values”, adding: “He has repeatedly flouted the law and proven himself to be a fraudster and a crook.
“The US national security strategy made clear there are some in the administration who want to interfere in our democracies, in opposition to British and European values.”
Robinson was hosted at the state department by Joe Rittenhouse, a senior adviser there, who posted images on X of the far-right activist being shown around, adding: “Honoured to have free speech warrior @TRobinsonNewEra at Department of State today.
“The world and the West is a better place when we fight for freedom of speech and no one has been on the front lines more than Tommy. Good to see you my friend!”
A senior adviser to the Bureau of Consular Affairs, which issues visas, Rittenhouse has become a prominent face of what he has called an “America First visa policy” as part of the administration’s use of the state department to enforce its broader anti-immigration agenda.
A former activist and Trump booster from Pennsylvania, Rittenhouse is said to have been closely involved in decisions to revoke visas for pro-Palestine activists on college campuses and those viewed as celebrating the assassination of the rightwing activist Charlie Kirk.
He has also carved out a niche for bringing rightwing activists to the US. In December, the Canadian rightwing activist Lauren Chen thanked him for “moving mountains” to facilitate her return to the US nearly two years after Tenet Media, the pro-Maga outlet she had co-founded, was revealed to have received $10m in Russian state funding.
Chen lost her work visa and left the US as a result. “This Christmas I’m so happy to help correct the wrongs of the past administration,” Rittenhouse wrote after her return.
The state department did not reply to questions on who granted Robinson a visa to the US or who else he met during the visit. “Tommy Robinson visited the state department in an unofficial capacity on a tour yesterday,” a spokesperson told the Guardian.
Robinson also used the visit to appear on US rightwing media platforms. He met Republican congressman for Florida Randy Fine, the influential Maga activist Jack Posobiec and Tim Pool, the former Vice Media journalist who has reinvented himself as a rightwing podcaster. Robinson praising the “success story” which Pool had built with studios and dozens of staff.
Close watchers of Robinson view the visit as about paving the way for making money and potentially relocating there. He has asked wealthy American backers to help him claim asylum and approached the Republican senator Ted Cruz’s office about securing a visa, the Guardian previously reported.
A leading immigration lawyer told the Guardian that individuals convicted of serious crimes, such as fraud or drug offences, would be commonly ineligible for visa-free travel under the US Electronic System for Travel Authorization.
“While an embassy may recommend a waiver, the final decision is made by US authorities in the United States, often several months later,” they added. A criminal history would have to be declared, often along with addition detail such as evidence of rehabilitation.
