{"id":803889,"date":"2026-07-16T12:11:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T12:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/803889\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T12:11:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T12:11:17","slug":"pauline-hanson-european-trip-internal-tensions-rise-in-one-nation-following-controversial-meeting-with-tommy-robinson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/803889\/","title":{"rendered":"Pauline Hanson European trip: Internal tensions rise in One Nation following controversial meeting with Tommy Robinson"},"content":{"rendered":"

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One Nation leader Pauline Hanson\u2019s European holiday has exposed cracks in her relationship with star recruit Barnaby Joyce \u2013 as her chief adviser claimed she was pushed into meeting a far-right UK activist by the Seven Network.<\/p>\n

Following a week of sliding poll numbers<\/a> and this masthead\u2019s reporting of antisemitic and conspiratorial views<\/a> of a One Nation senator, the populist party has moved to distance itself from a decision to meet anti-Islam activist and criminal Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.<\/p>\n

\"OneOne Nation leader Pauline Hanson talking to Tommy Robinson.X\/@TRobinsonNewEra<\/p>\n

The get-together with the Briton led to questions about Hanson\u2019s judgment as she spent time in Sicily at a luxury hotel with billionaire Gina Rinehart<\/a> during a gap between two conservative forums in London.<\/p>\n

The One Nation leader was photographed spending time poolside with her benefactor at the resort by one of the other guests, even as Hanson was posting on social media about the cost pressures faced by Australian farmers and highlighting her time in some of England\u2019s more struggling towns.<\/p>\n

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor suggested on Thursday that Hanson was \u201cliving it up\u201d in Europe instead of dealing with revelations about Senator Malcolm Roberts\u2019 support for Vladimir Putin<\/a> and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question here for Pauline Hanson is: what is she going to do about it? She\u2019s over in Italy right now,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n

\"GinaGina Rinehart (left) and Pauline Hanson seen at a resort in Sicily.<\/p>\n

Hanson\u2019s move to sit down with the fringe provocateur, whose appearance with Karl Stefanovic led to the broadcaster leaving Nine<\/a>, has exposed tension in One Nation\u2019s ranks after months of harmony as the party surged in the polls.<\/p>\n

Joyce, speculated to have some sort of agreement to one day lead the party, has told associates that Hanson\u2019s decision to appear with Robinson was ill-advised and showed a misunderstanding about voters\u2019 attitudes, according to sources in touch with the former National.<\/p>\n

One Nation and Joyce said the claim was wrong and that the pair have a trusting relationship.<\/p>\n

The sources said that other figures connected to One Nation have also expressed unease that Robinson\u2019s presence next to Hanson would hurt One Nation\u2019s reputation as the party tries to appeal to swinging voters.<\/p>\n

\"PaulinePauline Hanson speaks to advisor James Ashby ahead of her address to the National Press Club in Canberra in June.AAPIMAGE<\/p>\n

One source familiar with the internal dynamics in One Nation said: \u201cIt\u2019s falling apart rapidly. Barnaby and Pauline are in constant disagreement. No one likes Malcolm [Roberts] and everyone is keeping their eyes on [James] Ashby. Throw Lee\u2019s [Hanson, Pauline\u2019s daughter] ascension to the throne into the mix and it\u2019s not a happy place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hanson has been on what she has described as a \u201cfact-finding mission\u201d in Britain which has included a yet-to-be-released podcast with Robinson. She has been accompanied by a crew from Seven\u2019s Sunday night program, Spotlight, which has been working with Hanson for months.<\/p>\n

One Nation\u2019s top staffer, James Ashby, broke the party\u2019s silence, telling this masthead from London that Hanson was not initially planning to meet Robinson. The Queenslander was planning to meet Nigel Farage but the Reform UK leader quit and sparked a byelection a day before the scheduled meeting with Hanson.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAfter Nigel pulled out because of the byelection he caused, Seven went hunting for a filler,\u201d Ashby said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey paid for the hotel room for Tommy to film his podcast with PH. They paid for the people movers to visit Luton. They paid for four British SAS security to accompany them and the boss. They were big on making this meeting occur.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senior sources at Seven, who were not willing to speak on the record, pushed back and denied Ashby\u2019s version of events. They claimed that Spotlight crew were invited by One Nation to see Robinson interview the party\u2019s boss. Once the agreement was in place, Seven said they booked a hotel room to fit the podcast set-up, alongside its own camera crew.<\/p>\n

Communication between Seven and One Nation broke down just days before the episode was set to air. A Seven source claimed Ashby was \u201cpanicking because he can\u2019t control the story\u201d. Security was needed to protect Seven staff walking alongside a controversial figure such as Robinson, the Seven source said.<\/p>\n

Ashby believes that the Spotlight crew acted in a duplicitous manner by allegedly pushing for the Robinson meeting then pushing Hanson to defend him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to apologise for meeting with Tommy Robinson,\u201d Hanson said in the promo.<\/p>\n

A spokeswoman for Seven admitted the network \u201cpaid for some standard production costs including a hotel room used as a set for recording interviews and security to protect the Seven staff while recording on UK streets\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team has been granted rare access to Senator Hanson abroad, resulting in a Spotlight episode that includes fly-on-the-wall moments as well as tough questions from [reporter] Liam Bartlett. It will give Australians the chance to hear Hanson\u2019s views as they have been shaped by her UK visit, and an understanding of how her new outlook could shape Australia\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PaulinePauline Hanson and One Nation recruit Barnaby Joyce.Alex Ellinghausen<\/p>\n

Seven may face questions about its decision to facilitate the Hanson interview with the UK extremist, who has been convicted for a string of crimes including attacking an off-duty policeman. He has close links to Russia.<\/p>\n

Hanson embraced Robinson in a video she posted a week ago from the hotel room in which the podcast was filmed. \u201cThere\u2019s the famous man,\u201d she said, before the pair talked about how they had backed each other at low points in their careers. Hanson\u2019s promotion of the meeting suggests One Nation was comfortable with the exposure to Robinson, and she also backed Robinson after the Stefanovic affair.<\/p>\n

Hanson and Robinson also travelled through the streets of\u00a0 Luton, a town to the north of London,<\/a> with the Spotlight crew to expose what Hanson and Robinson say is the scourge of political Islam. About a third of Luton\u2019s population is Muslim, according to a 2021 Census.<\/p>\n

Ashby acknowledged that \u201cTommy isn\u2019t a perfect person\u201d and that he had \u201cmade plenty of mistakes\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there\u2019s one thing I\u2019ve witnessed with my own eyes \u2013 I never want Australia to end up like Luton or Tower Hamlets [a suburb in London],\u201d Ashby said. \u201cThere\u2019s a genuine concern that Britain will never turn back. We also learnt off Tommy that the prison system is overrun with Muslim gangs who are converting prisoners inside the prison system.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Mining<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe warned that Australia should carefully monitor this scenario back home. The guy isn\u2019t perfect, but he had a great deal of intel I won\u2019t be dismissing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In promos for the Sunday night program, Bartlett grills Hanson over the meeting with Robinson and confronts Robinson, who threatens at one point to \u201cbeat him up\u201d.<\/p>\n

Joyce said on Thursday: \u201cI don\u2019t support so much of what Tommy Robinson does, but I think it\u2019s incredibly important that we understand the social dynamic and how that came about.\u201d<\/p>\n

One Nation\u2019s primary vote dropped from 29 to 26 per cent in this masthead\u2019s Resolve survey<\/a> over the past month, mirroring similar movements in the Redbridge and YouGov polls. Hanson took a 10-point hit in her personal numbers after a messy month following her appearance at the National Press Club, but she remains ahead of the Coalition in most polls.<\/p>\n

Robinson first gained prominence in the 2000s as a member of the British National Party, which has been characterised as a fascist outfit by political scientists. He co-founded the English Defence League and organised anti-Islam street protests across the UK. He has achieved more mainstream appeal lately as public anxiety about migration and small boat arrivals has grown in the UK.<\/p>\n

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"PaulPaul Sakkal<\/a> is Chief Political Correspondent. He previously covered Victorian politics and won a Walkley award and the 2025 Press Gallery Journalist of the Year. Contact him securely on Signal @paulsakkal.14.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.\"CalumCalum Jaspan<\/a> is a media writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Melbourne. Reach him securely on Signal @calumjaspan.10Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":803890,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-803889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=803889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/803890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}