The whereabouts of far-right activist Tommy Robinson remain unknown after an alleged altercation left a man unconscious.
Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – is said to have fled Britain following the publication of a viral video appearing to show the aftermath of an assault.
Footage widely circulated online shows the visibly agitated 42-year-old from Luton, Bedfordshire, pacing back and forth beside an apparently unresponsive man who is seen lying face-down on a concourse at London’s St Pancras station.
The video does not show the moments before, or how the man ended up lying prostrate on the ground, but a witness has now sensationally claimed Robinson punched him.
The unnamed bystander said: “As soon as I reached the top of the escalator I saw Tommy Robinson and an older man facing off and standing very close to each other.
“I heard Tommy say, ‘Come at me then’ and then bam he punched the old man so hard that he was knocked out. It seemed very serious as the man wasn’t moving afterward.”
The alleged victim was taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries after the incident at 8.40pm on Monday.
In online footage Robinson, wearing jeans, a blue shirt and white trainers, is seen fidgeting back and forth as security is summoned.
As stunned bystanders watched on, one Good Samaritan can be heard shouting: “Can we get some help over here?”
Robinson is then seen walking away down a staircase, repeatedly protesting his innocence shouting: “He f***ing came at me, bruv. He came at me bruv, you saw that.”
The founder of the now defunct English Defence League, who is a prolific social media user, has yet to issue any statement on the alleged incident.
But amid a furious backlash allies have leapt to his defence with podcaster Don Keith, who desribes himself as an “American patriot” and who contributes to Robinson’s Urban Scoop media network, posting a video and accompanying statement to protest his friend’s innocence.
He said: “The media is lying to you about Tommy Robinson fleeing the country just like they lied when he went on vacation during the Southport riots.
“The man who suffered the injuries at the station during the altercation told Tommy he was intoxicated and was warned roughly five times to leave him alone, but proceeded to aggressively rush him anyway.
“There is, 100%, more video footage that vindicates Tommy.”
The incident comes just weeks after Robinson was released from prison.
In October he was jailed for multiple breaches of an injunction made in 2021 banning him from repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him for libel.
He was freed from HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes in May after an 18-month sentence was reduced by the High Court and immediately filmed a 20 minute video in which he said he would organise a free-speech festival in London for his army of supporters.
The event is planned for September 13 with Robinson repeatedly taking to social media plugging the “stand against tyranny” for weeks.
In his latest post on X, formally Twitter, he said: “We won’t just be Uniting The Kingdom, but the world. We have the biggest speakers from all corners of the world, united in one place in a show of patriotism. Be part of history.”
But in an astonishing twist Robinson may now not even be allowed to attend his own gathering if he is forced to return to the UK to answer questions about Monday night’s incident.
The British Transport Police said it was called to St Pancras station just after 8.40pm (on Monday) “following reports of an assault”.
A spokesman said: “Officers attended and a man was taken to hospital with serious injuries, which are not thought to be life threatening.
“The investigation has been ongoing and officers have been making arrest inquiries.
“Officers have confirmed that the suspect, a 42-year-old man from Bedfordshire, boarded a flight out of the country. Detectives are continuing to work closely to progress the investigation and bring him into custody for questioning.”