Investigation casts doubt on Tommy Robinson’s repeated claims he has been ‘debanked’

An investigation by Channel 4 News has cast into doubt far-right agitator Tommy Robinson’s repeated claims he has been completely debanked in the UK.

The documentary also found that Robinson held a fundraiser in aid of grooming gang survivor “Kate”, but failed to pass the proceeds on to her. 

Journalist Matt Shea demonstrated during the documentary that he successfully transferred £1 into an active Metro Bank account held under Robinson’s real name, Stephen Lennon.

Robinson has previously used the claim no British bank will allow him to have an account to justify collecting cash donations in buckets at a rally in Trafalgar Square in 2024.

When he was stopped by police on his way out of the country the next day and found with £13,000 in his car, he said it was because he had been debanked.

Robinson stated it was a basic personal account rather than a standard current account, maintaining that his supporters’ donations are not paid into his personal accounts.

The far-right anti-Islam and migrant campaigner has also been accused of pocketing the proceeds of a fundraiser for a grooming gang survivor. 

Kate, a Telford grooming gang survivor, said she didn’t receive any money from the fundraising campaigns in her name. 

She also accused Robinson of filming a suicidal phone call without her consent and airing it in a documentary using her real name despite promises of anonymity.

In response, Robinson denied using her crisis to make money or broadcasting the footage against her will, stating he recorded the call due to an imminent risk to her life and that Kate was content with the film prior to its release.

He added that four other survivors received financial support, but that he was unable to contact Kate.

The Dispatches investigation also found that questions had been raised about money raised for Peter Lynch, a 61-year-old who participated in the 2024 anti-immigration riots and took his own life in jail.

Robinson launched a fundraiser and said he would “pay for everything” for Lynch’s family after he died. However, he never passed the money on. 

Robinson said Lynch’s family declined the money, leading to the funds being allocated to support his own children instead.

Reacting to the findings of the investigation, barrister and former head of public prosecutions, Sir Max Hill KC, said Robinson could face a criminal probe for “fraud”. 

Hill also said Robinson could face an investigation into whether he lied under oath in a June 2022 High Court hearing, after he failed to pay £100,000 in libel damages to Syrian schoolboy Jamal Hijazi. 

Robinson said he couldn’t pay Hijazi as he didn’t have the money.

He said at the time: “I’ve not got any money. I’m bankrupt. I’ve struggled hugely with my own issues these last 12 months… I ain’t got it.”

Campaign group Hope Not Hate has now launched a petition calling on HMRC to investigate Robinson.

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward