Up Next
Billboard Chris Meets Adam Vena: California Father Loses Custody After Refusing to Affirm Son's Gender Transition at Age Two
8:18
Charlie Kirk Showed Black People Nothing But Love and Refused to See Them as Second-Class Citizens
21:46
Benny Johnson Exposes Bad Bunny's Disrespect and Announces All-American Halftime Show Alternative
9:02
Related Books
Browse Conservative Books
Tommy Robinson Explains Why the English Defence League Was Born in His Hometown of Luton
Tommy Robinson delivers a personal account of growing up in Luton and the experiences that led him to form the English Defence League. Speaking at the Oxford Union, Robinson walks through his life story from 1982 to present day, detailing incidents of grooming gangs, extremist recruitment, attacks on his family and community, and what he describes as two-tier policing. He challenges the audience to consider what they would have done in his position, witnessing radical islamist groups operating openly in his town while mainstream institutions remained silent. Robinson addresses accusations of racism and fascism, explaining his confrontations with both Nazi groups and Islamic extremists, and argues that fear of being labeled racist has paralyzed British institutions from addressing serious problems.
A Journey Through Luton's Transformation
Tommy Robinson begins by acknowledging the privilege of speaking at the Oxford Union, noting the journey from the streets of Luton to this prestigious platform represents a victory for freedom of speech. He reveals that probation officials visited him four days before the event, warning that certain topics he planned to discuss would result in recall to prison, forcing him to modify his prepared remarks.
Robinson asks the audience to take a journey through his life in Luton, starting from his birth in 1982. At that time, Luton had one mosque. By 2014, the town had 30 mosques. Government forecasts project the Pakistani and Bangladeshi community will increase by 70-77% by 2030. Robinson emphasizes he is not tarring all Muslims as bad, but wants the audience to understand the problems he witnessed firsthand.
Personal Stories of Division and Violence
Robinson shares the story of his cousin's cousin Janette, who was sexually abused and groomed in Barry Park, an area with heavy Muslim concentration. He describes police failures when the family reported her missing for days, with officers dismissing her as a drug addict despite the fact that she was given heroin by her abusers. Robinson notes that before the Rotherham report, people found these stories unbelievable.
At his high school, Robinson describes a division between the Muslim playground and non-Muslim playground, separated along religious rather than racial lines. He recounts his friend Razan dating a girl named Lisa, whose family was threatened by Razan's family to stop the relationship when they were just 12 years old. Another boy named Jamie was violently attacked for falling in love with an Asian girl at school.
Robinson describes being a victim of racial abuse at age 12 when attacked by a Pakistani gang while walking home from a swimming pool. He was called a white pig, spat on, and slapped. He then shares the story of Mark Sharp, murdered in 1995 by four Muslim men who beat him with bats and poles outside a kebab shop. The judge suggested the jury could consider that Sharp aggravated them enough to make young Asian males act that way. The attackers received four years and were out within two years.
Video Evidence of Racial Attacks
Robinson shows video footage documenting a series of racially motivated attacks on elderly residents' homes in Luton. The video shows a beer keg thrown through the window of a 74-year-old great-grandmother, the third such attack, with the previous one occurring on Christmas Eve. Another couple had been targeted repeatedly, living in fear of petrol bombs through their letterbox. One couple had lived in their home for 60 years but were so terrorized they kept boards on their windows.
Robinson notes there were 88 attacks on 30 different houses before police acted, drawing parallels to the Rotherham report's revelations about police conspiracy and downplaying crimes to avoid being deemed racist. He emphasizes that he knows these families personally and witnessed these events, while also noting that Muslims in the community offered support to the victims.
A Jewish Resident's Testimony
Robinson presents video testimony from a Jewish resident who describes five years of harassment in Luton. The man explains that after giving up his car and becoming more visible on the streets, he experienced people growling at him and spitting near him. He eventually realized they were spitting at him directly. Younger Muslims showed aggression simply because he was Jewish.
The man was cornered in his college and forced to justify the existence of Israel. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and experiences panic attacks. Over five years, there have been approximately 300 incidents and attacks on him and his home. He cannot have friends or family visit because he cannot guarantee their safety. The man is moving to Israel because he feels safer there than in London in 2014. Robinson emphasizes that the vast majority of Muslims are not involved, but there is a problem that needs addressing.
September 11th and the Rise of Al-Muhajiroun
Robinson recalls where he was on September 11th - at Luton Airport on his apprenticeship. He received a phone call from a friend at Luton Sixth Form saying Muslims were cheering and celebrating. In his local estate, he saw "Magnificent 19" posters glorifying the terrorists. On the first anniversary, billboards across his estate were painted over to cover any woman's flesh, conforming to Sharia law.
At this same time, a girl at Lutnall High School attempted to wear a full face veil to school. When she was expelled, her brother, a member of the extremist organization Al-Muhajiroun, led protests outside the school. The group handed out leaflets every year saying Christmas is a sin to children trying to attend school.
The 2004 Anti-Terror Rally
Robinson shares a newspaper article from September 2004, before the 7/7 attacks, when he was 21 years old. He organized an anti-terror rally in response to the Beslan massacre, where Chechen terrorists murdered schoolchildren. He watched an interview with a Muslim from Luton named Sayful Islam (meaning "sword of Islam") who said what happened at Beslan was justified and would be justified if it happened in a school in England.
This prompted Robinson to research Al-Muhajiroun, discovering Omar Bakri and Abu Hamza, who were based in Luton on Biscot Road. The leaflets for his demonstration described it as a peaceful protest to stop terrorist recruiting in the town. The leaflet demanded police and council action to close down Al-Muhajiroun's head office, stop Islamic extremist recruiting in the town center on Saturdays, and clamp down on racist attacks on white and black lads by Muslim gangs.
The leaflet claimed Islamic extremism was running out of control in Luton, with Muslims attending Afghan terror training camps, Magnificent 19 posters glorifying suicide murderers, churches being firebombed, and beatings and stabbings of young whites occurring regularly. Robinson notes this was before 7/7, and that Al-Muhajiroun represents the same ideology as ISIS.
The 7/7 Connection to Luton
The 7/7 terrorists collected their bombs in Luton from a suspected Al-Muhajiroun operative named Q who worked in a chicken shop in the town center. Q was also the mastermind behind the fertilizer bomb plot. Robinson emphasizes that Luton shares space with terrorists - they are not millions of miles away but living in the same community.
The Stockholm bomber came to Luton from Sweden as an innocent Muslim, was targeted and radicalized by this group at Luton University, and subsequently blew himself up. He lived three doors from Robinson's auntie. The extremist group operated at Luton University during fresher week, targeting vulnerable students away from home for the first time.
The Soldiers' Homecoming Parade
Robinson describes what most people see as the catalyst for the English Defence League - the soldiers' homecoming parade in Luton. Scott Moncrieff, age 26 from Robinson's estate, had died. Michael Swain, 19, lost his legs. Robinson went to pay his respects to soldiers returning from service.
He saw a large police presence, Sayful Islam, groups of Muslim extremists, and 30 women together in burkas. Muslim protesters, facilitated by police and council (who leafleted every mosque telling them about the protest), called the soldiers baby killers, murderers, rapists, and butchers of Basra. They spat in the faces of soldiers and their mothers. Intelligence showed 360 Muslims were arrested attempting to come into Luton that morning, with 70% born outside the UK.
Robinson set up a website called Save Luton, documenting continuing incidents. He describes how Jews remembering the Holocaust outside the town hall had to barricade themselves inside because Muslim extremists tried to attack them, with a 5-year-old girl screaming and crying. The same group attacked the multi-faith march every year.
The Birth of United People of Luton
Robinson organized a petition asking for the extremist group to be ASBOed (Anti-Social Behaviour Order) from the town center, the same way troublesome youths would be banned from shops. Five years later, authorities began discussing ASBOs for terrorists - exactly what Robinson's group requested before any protests.
On St. George's Day, Lutnall High School (the same school where the girl tried to wear the niqab) sent a letter threatening suspension for any student bringing the St. George's emblem, while the same school encouraged celebration with Pakistani flags when Pakistan won at cricket. Robinson asks what message this sends to English children about being ashamed of their identity.
Three weeks after this incident, the newspaper headline read "St George's Day Parade Banned." Robinson organized a group called United People of Luton (UPL), naming the gangs, the heroin trade, and the shops involved. As a 21-year-old, he became the target of major Pakistani Muslim gangs in Luton, with bricks thrown through windows at his mother's house.
The First UPL Demonstration
Robinson made placards reading "National Front Go to Hell" and "Voters Demand St George's Day Parade." The demonstration was met with heavy-handed police presence. A horse flattened Robinson's uncle. His friend Isaac, a young black man holding a placard reading "National Front Go to Hell," had his teeth knocked out by a police officer on a horse.
The group wanted to reach the war memorial but were prevented by police and kettled for four hours. Robinson's auntie had to urinate in the street. When Muslim extremists protested against soldiers, Robinson witnessed police not stopping, searching, or harassing them, but when his group gathered, they were lined up against walls, cameras in their faces, hands in pockets, shoes removed, names and addresses taken. Robinson describes feeling violated by their own police force.
Formation of the English Defence League
After the first UPL protest, police arrested 14 people and gave them bail conditions not to enter the town center 24 hours a day, seven days a week for three months - the exact ban Robinson's group had requested for the extremists. At the second demonstration, people wore balaclavas that Robinson provided because those under bail conditions still wanted to walk through their own town to the war memorial to show support for armed forces.
Robinson researched Al-Muhajiroun and discovered they were doing an Islamic Road Show across Britain, visiting every town and city. Video footage shows them outside Birmingham Bull Ring shopping center stopping an 11-year-old boy named Shawn, without his parents, under a banner reading "Jesus Was a Muslim," and converting him on camera. Many people in that video are now fighting for ISIS abroad.
As a group of lads from Luton, they went to Birmingham with placards reading "What About Shawn's Rights," "Shawn Was 11 Years Old," and "Muslim No Problem, Extremist Muslim Big Problem." On their second visit, they were locked in a pub for four hours. When brought out on coaches, Robinson saw debris everywhere - Muslim youth had been rioting for hours. Politician Salma Yaqoob had riled a crowd with a clenched fist saying "we must smash the BNP," and Muslims ran through streets attacking non-Muslims. The local Imam had told Muslim youth to come out and confront them.
Confronting Nazis
At Birmingham demonstrations, Nazis with Dr. Martens boots turned up. Robinson emphasizes that Luton is a multicultural town with no history of racial tensions, only religious tensions. You cannot find a Nazi in Luton. When Nazis appeared on the streets with them, Robinson's group made clear they were not welcome.
On the first Birmingham demo, five Nazis got on the coach with Luton lads. One gave a Hitler salute and was physically confronted. Robinson received a phone call from a man called "Nazi Nick," a German, demanding he hand over control of the English Defence League, websites, and everything else. Robinson refused. He later learned this was a man who tried to overthrow the South African government.
Robinson shows a document from white nationalists criticizing the EDL's "alliance with external enemies, the Zionists," and attacking "lone white nationalists." Robinson emphasizes that the press would not report that when trouble occurred at early demonstrations, it was often EDL members rooting out extremists. The group's concept of nationalism was that anyone - black, Muslim, Christian - is welcome if they are proud to be English and proud of the country's laws and freedoms.
The Charity Walk Incident
Robinson shows Channel 4 News footage of an incident during a charity walk near East London Mosque. The video shows police closing in on a scuffle between two men, one in a blue shirt and one in a red jacket. Kevin Carroll claimed he was punched and appeared to retaliate while Robinson looked on from the sidelines. The news report pauses and freezes on Kevin Carroll looking aggressive and violent, though Robinson argues the full footage tells a different story. He uses this to illustrate how headlines can misrepresent events.
Remembrance Sunday Poppy Burning
Robinson shows footage from Remembrance Sunday where Muslims Against Crusades, including radical Islamist Anjem Choudary and supporters, burned poppies on Armistice Day around the corner from a remembrance service. The protesters shouted "British troops burn in hell" and "British troops murder us." Robinson notes they clearly were not searched before the demonstration as they had lighter fluid canisters.
Robinson was arrested at this demonstration for assaulting a police officer. Video footage shows him jumping over a fence and grabbing the black flag of jihad (now known to be symbolic of ISIS) while police were allowing the poppy burning. When taken to court, he produced video evidence showing he did not assault the officer, and charges were dropped. Eight weeks later, police rearrested him and charged him with causing the Muslim men alarm and distress. He received a fine seven times worse than the fine given to the men for burning poppies.
Two-Tier Policing System
Robinson shows video of a Muslim man confronting and threatening him on camera, calling him names and saying "you'll have about 100 around you in a minute." This aired on Channel 4 national TV but the man was not arrested. Robinson argues he would have been arrested for the same behavior, illustrating a two-tier policing system.
He describes another incident where Muslims followed him to his family's home. When Robinson rushed there and jumped out of his car, police arrested him, his uncle, and his cousin - but did not search any of the 20 Muslims outside the house. After 36 hours in custody, police admitted they found nothing because they never searched the Muslims.
Stacey Dooley Returns to Luton
Robinson shows footage from a documentary where Stacey Dooley, a presenter from Luton, returns to her hometown to investigate claims that Muslim extremists are taking over. The video shows a demonstration in response to the arrest of Mona Thorne, whose husband set off a bomb in Stockholm in 2010. Protesters chant "Police burn in hell" and "British police burn in hell."
When Dooley engages with female protesters about dress, one woman asks "who are you trying to seduce?" and tells her "go and find some clothes" and "you look naked." When Dooley says it's her hometown too, the woman responds aggressively. Male protesters tell her all non-Muslims are destined for hellfire and that if the law of the land is not Islamic, "the law of the land and those who make it can go to hell." When asked about David Cameron, the protester says "he can go to hell as well" and tells Dooley "you're on your way to the hellfire because you're a non-Muslim." The footage shows Dooley brought to tears.
Meeting with Theresa May
In 2010, Robinson set up a meeting with Theresa May, then Home Secretary. She thought she was meeting a constituent but Robinson turned up instead, spending 20-25 minutes showing her evidence on his laptop about his fears regarding Islamic extremism in Luton. The Daily Mail immediately leaked the story as "EDL Leader Ambushes Theresa May."
Robinson explained his concerns about Luton Islamic Centre and Imam Qadeer Baksh, who was part of the local Council's "Luton in Harmony" program and portrayed as a moderate imam in the documentary "Proud and Prejudiced." Robinson discovered that on the mosque website, the imam advocated executing homosexuals and provided a 12-page justification for why women should be lashed for adultery. Robinson warned Theresa May that this imam was also a school teacher.
Confronting the "Moderate" Imam
Robinson shows audio of a 2014 conversation with Imam Qadeer Baksh on radio. When challenged about statements on homosexuality, the imam defends Sharia punishments as deterrents, comparing them to fear of prison. He argues very few hands get chopped off and very few women get lashed. Robinson challenges this, asking how many is acceptable in an ideal Islamic society. The imam confirms these laws exist as deterrents.
Robinson recalls when he first met the imam, the imam told him Sharia law would not come to this country in Robinson's lifetime, probably not his son's, but the generation after that. Robinson says this cemented why he resists Islamization. Robinson notes that despite his warnings in 2010, in 2014 when he left the English Defence League, the radio station immediately went to Qadeer Baksh as the "moderate imam" to discuss Robinson.
The Grooming Gang Crisis
Robinson discusses the grooming gang crisis, emphasizing these are not statistics but daughters and sisters from working-class communities. In Rotherham, 1,400 girls were sexually abused and raped, meaning thousands of family members are affected in that small town. The same is true in Luton, where Robinson knows countless girls this has happened to.
Counselors and leaders from the Islamic community conspired with police to not deal with Muslim grooming gangs for 20 years, allowing systematic rape of youth because they were scared of being called racist. The police, councils, and government persecuted those highlighting the issue rather than addressing it. Robinson argues that arrest rates for Muslim grooming gangs show a straight line until the English Defence League formed, then arrests went through the roof. Only when people took to the streets and the world's media listened did authorities act.
Robinson shares a story from Blackburn where he stayed with a family the night before a demonstration. He listened to horrific stories about what was happening to their 12-year-old daughter who was going missing for days. Her 19-year-old brother told Robinson these stories. The next day at the demonstration, when it was "all kicking off," Robinson went to the front to calm people down and found that same brother at the front confronting police. Robinson argues there is usually a reason for the anger people see.
Prison as an ISIS Training Camp
Robinson describes Woodhill Prison as "an ISIS training camp." Category A jails are radicalizing inmates at an alarming rate, with 800 radicalized prisoners coming out per year. Inmates are weak and vulnerable, being turned to hate the system, the country, and everything British. Robinson warns that at some point, a prison convert will come out and commit mass murder on British streets.
Terrorists are not segregated or isolated. They run the wings, converting people and making them take the shahada. Even the imams in Woodhill are trying to do something but are not trusted and not listened to - they are seen as stooges. People are not converting with the imam but with the radicals running the wings.
Solitary Confinement Experience
In 2012, Robinson flew to America on September 11th using someone else's passport, which he admits was "pretty stupid." He received 10 months in jail. He spent 20 weeks in solitary confinement - 23.5 hours per day locked up, with half an hour daily to walk around a cage alone. Meals were brought to his room.
This exceeds legal limits - solitary confinement is only allowed for 30 days due to mental health concerns. To get around this, authorities moved Robinson between prisons: Wormwood Scrubs block, Bedford block, Woodhill block, Wormwood Scrubs block, Wormwood Scrubs block again. He was not allowed out of his cell because he would be killed. His family noticed the difference in him as a person when they visited.
Robinson's family contacted human rights lawyers who said he definitely had a case for judicial review as spending 12 weeks in solitary confinement violated his rights. When they revealed he was the leader of the English Defence League, the lawyers refused to represent him. His family then contacted the lawyer who represented Jamie Bulger's killer - a man who cut off the penis of a child and fed it to him. That lawyer also refused to represent Robinson when learning his identity, despite representing a child killer. Robinson argues this shows how toxic it has become to speak out and be critical of what he has witnessed.
Fear and Paralysis
Robinson argues that fear is paralyzing - it paralyzed Rotherham's police force, politicians, and the British public to tolerate many things happening in the country. He contrasts different types of fear: he can deal with fear of walking down the street and encountering 10 Pakistani lads, but there is a fear he cannot deal with - a gut-wrenching fear when he looks around his town and country and thinks about his three young kids. That fear drives much of what he does.
Beliefs and Political Views
Robinson addresses being labeled far-right, arguing many of his views are left-wing and liberal. He simply has a problem with what he sees as fascism and extremism. He questions why government-funded groups linked with trade unions, whose job is to oppose fascism, were not present during the rise of what Theresa May now calls the biggest threat to the country's history.
Robinson defends his right to his views: he has a problem with seeing his culture eroded, his identity disappearing, Sharia patrols, and neighbors being forced from their homes. As a young lad from Luton, he made decisions and took actions born out of passion for what was right, not hatred. He argues it would be absurd to say this was all done out of hatred when he has put his life on line and experienced many negative effects.
Final Message on Interfaith and Dialogue
Robinson criticizes interfaith policies across the country as "completely useless." In Luton, Sikh leaders, Muslim leaders, and Christian leaders meet twice a year to take photos with arms around each other for the newspaper, but it accomplishes nothing. He argues that if the country is serious about solving the problem and healing deep wounds, the people who need to be brought together are those on EDL demonstrations and the young kids being attracted to Islamist organizations. The only way forward is through dialogue.
Comments
Be the first to comment on this video.