US cash turned Tommy Robinson into the poster boy of UK far right

Outside the Old Bailey in 2018, a reinvented Tommy Robinson flashed his perfect new teeth to 2,000 diehard supporters at a “free Tommy” rally on a stage that blocked the street.

- John Simpson Home affairs editor

Robinson was suddenly flush with US funds that transformed him from rightwing agitator to self-styled “citizen journalist”, with slick videos and a vast social media following that helped his Unite the Kingdom demonstration draw 110,000 protesters to the streets of London yesterday.

Money from one man — US tech billionaire Robert Shillman — ties Robinson to a Who's Who of far-right influencers with millions of followers online. Among them was US conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was murdered in Utah last week.

Robinson’s reinvention for the social media age, which expanded his focus on Muslims allegedly involved in child sexual abuse, was the result of his “Shillman fellowship” in 2017 to rightwing Canadian website Rebel Media - now called Rebel News - to the tune of about £85,000 over a year.