Tommy Robinson claimed Elon Musk was paying his legal costs, as he went on trial for refusing to comply with a request made by counter-terrorism police as he tried to leave Britain last year.
The far-right activist, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley Lennon, refused to give police the pin for his phone because it had “journalistic material on it” after they stopped him at the Channel tunnel on 28 July 2024, a court heard.
The activist had arrived alone at the Channel tunnel in a silver Bentley belonging to a friend and was on his way to the Spanish resort of Benidorm with more than £13,000 in a small bag, the first day of the trial at Westminster magistrates court heard.
The money was said to have been from a collection to offset the expenses from organising a major rally of Robinson’s supporters that took place the day before in Trafalgar Square. Robinson told police he was white English but was travelling on an Irish passport he had recently obtained and that he lived in Spain.
Police were suspicious of his “vague replies” to questions and requested access to his iPhone under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act, which allows for the stopping of anyone passing through a UK port to “determine whether they may be involved or concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”.
Robinson, who denies failing to comply with the counter-terrorism powers, said in video recorded before he entered court: “Thankfully, I haven’t had to beg for donations today because Elon Musk has picked up the legal bill for this absolute state persecution.”
Musk has been contacted to confirm whether he is covering the bill.
The X and Tesla boss has emerged as an ally of Robinson and recently appeared on a live video link at a far-right rally organised in London by Robinson, where Musk told the crowd: “Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you.”
Opening the case, the prosecutor Jo Morris said officers “became concerned” about the activist’s demeanour after he drove alone into the police inspection area. He had been recognised by police at an early stage and was restrained when he tried to start filming them and recorded a message that he was being detained, she said.
When he was asked to hand over the phone’s pin, Robinson was said to have replied: “Not a chance, bruv … You look like cunts so you ain’t having it.”
He told police at the tunnel and said in a later interview at Folkestone police station that his phone contained information about “vulnerable girls” whom he had spoken to during what he described as his journalistic reporting on grooming gangs.
PC Mitchell Thorogood, a counter-terrorism officer who was in the booth when Robinson arrived at Folkestone, told the court that the Bentley Bentayga SUV – prices for which start at £170,000 – had attracted their attention. It was also a last-minute booking and “unusual” for someone to take a long trip in someone else’s car
Asked by Robinson’s barrister, Alisdair Williamson KC: “Do terrorists drive in high-value, high-visibility vehicles?” he replied that terrorists could drive “any type of vehicle”.
The lawyer, who said that the activist “frequently” travels to Benidorm later suggested that stop may have been “discriminatory” against Robinson’s political beliefs.
Sgt Farmer, who carried out an initial consideration of the decision to stop Robinson under counter-terrorism powers, told the court that the activist’s involvement in the English Defence League (EDL) and the “emerging threat level” from the far right had also been cited as a factor.
Under questioning, Farmer said he had experience as a public order officer policing demonstrations by the EDL. He said he was aware it had disbanded in 2014 but said there was still a concern over far-right ideology “in terms of perceived Islamophobia”.
Earlier, District Judge Sam Goozee gave an instruction that Robinson’s address should not be published, after Williamson said there were “credible threats” against the activist’s life. The trial, which is expected to take two days, was adjourned until Tuesday.