Tommy Robinson, founder of the anti-Muslim EDL, 'flees the UK for Spain'

Tommy Robinson, the founder of the far-right English Defence League (EDL), said on Tuesday that he had fled the UK for Spain after alleged threats against his family.

The anti-immigration activist said in a video posted online that he was now in Spain and was looking to permanently relocate to the country after an alleged arson attack on his family's home.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, said that he had video evidence of the incident but did not release any footage.

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) June 9, 2020" style="color:#fff;" class="twitter-post-link" target="_blank">Twitter Post Comment: "The government's #BAME Covid-19 review is wrong. It's not the ethnicity of a person that puts them at risk, rather the structural oppression they face" https://t.co/704Nn2uADc — The New Arab (@The_NewArab) June 9, 2020

"At that point we left the country straight away and I'm looking at relocating my family, which is pretty hard to do, especially with Covid - I couldn't even get a hotel," he said in the video, after going for "a dip".

"Obviously my wife has had enough of everything. Someone gave her somewhere to stay, so we left the country," he added.

Robinson said he was due to fly back to the UK for a demonstration this weekend but cancelled due new laws requiring arrivals from Spain to quarantine for two-weeks.

In the video, he claimed the home belonged to his wife.

Robinson could face potential damages due to the defamation of a Syrian schoolchild, who he wrongly accused of assault.

The family of the schoolboy are seeking £100,000 in damages and the case could go to trial if Robinson fails to resolve the issue, which was sparked by an online video of the teenager being bullied by white classmates in Huddersfield.

Robinson founded the EDL in 2009, which he claimed was started to protest "radical Islamism" but whose actions have been blamed for escalating hate crimes against Muslims in the UK.

In 2013, Robinson left the EDL claiming his decision was motivated by the "dangers of far-right extremism", but since then he has been involved in other controversial activism.

Robinson was jailed in 2018 for contempt of court, after live streaming a child grooming case outside a Leeds court.

Before he was jailed, he pleaded to US President Donald Trump to grant him asylum.