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I'm sure I'm probably about to be reverted, but searching, I don't see a long discussion on this, so I'm gonna start one because I don't think this is relevant enough to deserve the prominence it has. There are all kinds of people who have, at one point or another, been convicted of a crime, justly or unjustly. There's a whole paragraph about the actual things he was convicted of further down in the lede, and I would also like to discuss moving these further down. While they're undoubtedly essential to his character, I don't think they're >50% of the reason he's notable (which current word counts in the lede would seem to imply). We don't afford people notability based on the crimes they commit per WP:PERP, so these things are only notable because he is, already, for other reasons, a notable figure.
I'm not out to make a martyr of the guy, obviously he's a rather unpleasant fellow for a number of reasons, but I can't help but think his criminal convictions are a backdrop for his notability, rather than a leading cause of them. This edit to the first sentence is in my opinion a first step in the right direction. BrigadierG (talk) 13:15, 5 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I'd be inclined to agree the first sentence is WP:UNDUE, especially when it's mentioned again later in the lead. I agree that it's not >50% of the reason he's notable; I suspect it is there for PoV reasons. — Czello(music)13:43, 5 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
He has been convicted of more than one, throughout his life, and goes back to before he was notable as an activist. So it is very much part of his imager in the media. Slatersteven (talk) 13:46, 5 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
He has been involved in numerous scrapes that have led to criminal convictions, and some of them are notable because they relate to his career as an activist. However, I agree that the wording in the opening sentence is rather clunky. Since this is already dealt with in the lead with more context, I've removed it.--♦IanMacM♦(talk to me)13:51, 5 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I've gone ahead and made an attempt at tightening up the lede to focus primarily on crimes that lend to his notability - such as his recent jailing for contempt of court. Happy to discuss/compromise on how to approach this. BrigadierG (talk) 14:53, 5 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I think it's more than a little concerning that the lede said he was convicted of stalking when the actual outcome was a civil order. BrigadierG (talk) 14:54, 5 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It seems like a relatively unimportant backdrop to him already having existing convictions and being the leader of a far-right extremist group - ultimately, that's the reason why he used false documents in the first place. BrigadierG (talk) 15:10, 5 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, we already have enough information in the article to conclude that he committed a crime internationally. What's up with the insistence on that label in particular? Could it possibly be that the term "international criminal" calls into mind big threatening drug cartels and the like? The archetypal "criminal" is a loaded stereotype.BrigadierG (talk) 15:21, 5 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Don't get me wrong, I think it is relevant and should be mentioned in the article body, but the question I'd put to you is this - is the reason he was travelling on a false passport a factor of:
1. His previous imprisonment for assaulting an off-duty police officer or
2. His leadership of the EDL
3. Something else
My current perception is that it's a product of 1 - something otherwise mostly unrelated to the reason for his notability. I would be convinced that it has a place in the lede if it can be shown the reason he needed to travel on false documents is because of his political affiliation (or because of some outcome or legal status connected to his political affiliation). BrigadierG (talk) 15:43, 5 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Given that its crimes in multiple countries are considered terrorism, a better start to the article would be.
<Convicted international terroristStephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon (born 27 November 1982), better known as Tommy Robinson, is a British anti-Islam campaigner and one of the UK’s most dangerous far-right terrorists.>
We cannot deny that it has committed some serious offences. And even if a reliable source for its terrorist atrocities doesn't currently exist, then one can be made to cite the article after it is edited to make such a declaration. Then we'd have a reliable source to cite, improving the validity of the assertion. It's not like anyone can prove it isn't a terrorist, so that's good enough to strengthen the article. 92.19.46.45 (talk) 12:16, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Scrape, "a difficult or slightly dangerous situation that you cause by your own silly behaviour".[1] It was pretty silly of Robinson to attempt to enter the USA with someone else's passport, but I'm not denying that he has committed some serious offences.--♦IanMacM♦(talk to me)15:05, 5 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
Born Stephen Yaxley-Lennon [2][3][4] from RS. He says he was born Stephen Yaxley [5]. I assume the BBC interview ref in the body is him saying he was born Stephen Christopher Yaxley? Not gonna watch it as no time reference.[6] Meanwhile WP:METRO is generally unreliable. So should we go by what Stephen says he was born as, or what RS say? The wordiness of the first sentence could be avoided here, if he was simply born as Yaxley-Lennon, per RS. CommunityNotesContributor (talk) 16:00, 5 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, it has been established that Tommy Robinson also known as Stephen Yaxley Lennon i'm various other aliases was in fact born in the Republic of Ireland.
Not Luton! This is important because he has boasted of being an English patriot. We clearly saw from his Canadian immigration documents and his birth certificate that he was born in the Republic of Ireland. I have tried to edit the article but it seems I can't. Can someone please edit the article to reflect that he was actually born in the Republic of Ireland and although he has campaign for Brexit, being an Irish citizen the impact for him was not felt as it was for the rest of the population. BritishGrammar (talk) 11:39, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, it has been established that Tommy Robinson also known as Stephen Yaxley Lennon & various other aliases was in fact born in the Republic of Ireland.
Not Luton! This is important because he has boasted of being an English patriot. We clearly saw from his Canadian immigration documents and his birth certificate that he was born in the Republic of Ireland. I have tried to edit the article but it seems I can't. Can someone please edit the article to reflect that he was actually born in the Republic of Ireland and although he has campaign for Brexit, being an Irish citizen the impact for him was not felt as it was for the rest of the population. BritishGrammar (talk) 11:42, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
The problem I have broadly with this article (and many others like it) is that it frequently uses juxtaposition and category labels to create a tone that doesn't reflect the articles it sources from.
The original version of that claim said something in the form of "Robinson said it's not anti-muslim, but its members include hooligans and anti-muslim people". This way of phrasing things creates a juxtaposition of Robinson's statements against a statement from a source that emphasises that Robinson is an unreliable narrator. This is probably true, extremists aren't generally known for being reliable sources on their own beliefs when trying to make themselves look presentable to a mainstream audience, but it's not encyclopaedic to create this juxtaposition without it being presented this way in reliable sources.
I've put this back in as an attributed claim, but I'm intending to give the rest of the article a similar shakedown. If there are specific things you think I should keep in mind while doing this, would appreciate it in advance. BrigadierG (talk) 12:30, 6 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
ANd we had a source for just that claim. And yes, you need to keep in mind do not to remove sourced content without discussion, and you need to self revert. Slatersteven (talk) 12:40, 6 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Which part, that we had a source for this content, that you choose to remove the cite to? Or the request to not remove sourced content without asking first? The fact you have already removed cite content means you really need to get permission to remove anything (per wp:brd) that might (as this was) get reverted. Slatersteven (talk) 13:27, 6 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
This is good, I would much rather have someone watching over my shoulder to make sure my edits are not problematic. I am doing my best to work with you collaboratively on this and come to compromises about contested content (eg mentioning being barred from the US in the lede), and I think it is only reasonable to go back and forth to some degree when a significant change is implemented.
My intent is generally not to add many new sources, nor remove many, just to try end edit the content to better reflect the sources in question and remove cases of WP:SYNTH and WP:LABEL. BrigadierG (talk) 15:46, 6 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The problem with that is wp:3rr, we may well end up having an edit war (this is why I have not reverted your last edit). YOu did not remove WP:SYNTH , as stated we had a source that explicitly stated both the claims (and they do not violate label) you removed. Slatersteven (talk) 15:53, 6 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
All I've done is shift them from statements in wikivoice to attributions and removed the juxtaposition. What changes would you make to my edits? BrigadierG (talk) 18:35, 6 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
No you did not, you removed the claim he wore a mask, you removed the text about how some of its members were football hooligans. Slatersteven (talk) 09:26, 7 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
UKIP should be removed from the political party section on the infobox as Robinson was never actually a member. While he was an adviser to party leader Gerard Batten, he was never a member as the party's constitution barred former members of far-right groups like the EDL and BNP. This is stated in the article body under 'Political activities'. No exception was made for him and UKIP kept this ban on far-right group members until 2023. 148.252.147.61 (talk) 03:06, 9 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Emeraude: Hello! Regarding this edit to the punctuation of quotes: could you please point me to the MOS guideline that says to punctuate this way? I've only been able to find guidelines that say to only have the original closing punctuation within quotes and, given that this is speech in a written source that is then being quoted here, it feels that following the logical quotation rule would be the right move. Aligning with this, the BBC News source actually uses logical quotation when it quotes Robinson: ...chanted "EDL till I die", as... (notice the comma outside the quotation marks). Either way, though, the "I'll drown you" quote (§ Almondbury Community School assault and legal action against Robinson should definitely not have a comma both before and after the quotation mark as it currently does: ...attacker, "I'll drown you,", while.... Again, correct me (w/ guideline) if I'm wrong! – Daℤyzzos (✉️ • 📤) 13:47, 15 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The words EDL till I die were spoken by Robinson. We are quoting him - he said it. We know he said it because the BBC reported he said it. We are quoting Robinson's own words, so the full stop belongs in the quote marks. The BBC is our source, we are not quoting the BBC. Emeraude (talk) 09:07, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The subject of the article is meant to be presented from a neutral point of view, not portrayed as a paragon of justice and defender of children. 92.19.46.45 (talk) 16:03, 19 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Present any video evidence you have in your possession or sources that have indisputable proof, things that nobody could possibly argue were doctored, or stop spreading conspiracy theories as fact. 92.19.46.45 (talk) 21:39, 28 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
See [7][8] Seems to concern an alleged immigration offence. Don't see any urgency in adding it to the article until we get more details. It may turn out to be a nothingburger, but we should probably be aware, and make sure that if anything is added it is properly sourced. AndyTheGrump (talk) 13:21, 25 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I find it quite ironic that he's for strong border protection in his own country of Britain but has absolutely no problem with violating the immigration laws of other country. TarnishedPathtalk09:15, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It seems significant for inclusion. Unfortunately the alleged infraction committed by Robinson has not been disclosed. TFD (talk) 11:49, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
an article in yahoo says "Tommy Robinson has been arrested in Canada on suspicion of an immigration offence after giving a speech in Calgary" 107.171.251.81 (talk) 14:25, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It's very clear to me that he lied to immigration or border security about his criminal record on entering Canada which is probably a chargable offence. 107.171.251.81 (talk) 14:44, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It's too soon to say if this has any long term value. If he is simply sent back to the UK without any charges being filed, it is not of great long term notability.--♦IanMacM♦(talk to me)14:56, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Debatable. The fact of his arrest is reliably sourced, whether of not he is charged, and then whether he's acquitted or convicted. Certainly he and his supporters are kicking up a fuss about it. I still think it would be better to wait and see. Emeraude (talk) 11:19, 27 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
According to [9] picture of Canada Immigration documents, Tommy Robinson was and is not legally British but Irish and that he was born in Ireland not in England as he has previously stated.
The article needs to be rectified to call him Irish instead of British and that his birthplace is Ireland, not England Marinne2004 (talk) 21:47, 27 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Given that Robinson/Lennon has a prior conviction for travelling under a false passport, it might also be reasonable to be a little sceptical as to whether the place of birth stated was in fact accurate. AndyTheGrump (talk) 00:43, 28 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It's interesting and now we are getting somewhere. If he did state on his travel documents that he was born in Ireland this would have set off suspicions, because he was born in England. The date of birth is correct though.--♦IanMacM♦(talk to me)07:40, 28 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
To avoid confusion, there is no reason why a UK citizen born in the UK cannot also have Irish citizenship (and a passport) if they have a parent or grandparent born in Ireland. Robinson clearly qualifies. (In addition, citizens of Northern Ireland - part of the UK - can also have an Irish passport if they wish.)Emeraude (talk) 09:20, 28 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The (non-WP:RS) source says that Robinson/Lennon was born in Ireland, which is contrary to what other sources have stated. Clearly it is possible that these sources are wrong. We just don't know, which is why we need to wait for proper sourcing. And avoid speculation here. AndyTheGrump (talk) 09:36, 28 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It's easy for Robinson to have Irish citizenship through his mother. The actual place of birth is more of an issue, but we'll have to wait and see what comes of this.--♦IanMacM♦(talk to me)09:42, 28 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
As official documents published by Robinson himself (here) state his place of birth is Ireland, I think any reference to a place of birth in the article should be removed. It can be reinstated when a definitive answer can be agreed upon. Boardwalk.Koi (talk) 19:08, 28 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
In 2013 he said he was born in London,[10] despite being born in Luton.[11] I'm not convinced adding further claims from an SM source of where he was born adds any value to article. CNC (talk) 19:39, 28 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Okay, well, can you show us evidence that he was born in Luton? Because as of yet we don't have any. It's clear that Wikipedia should be a place of fact. Where is the evidence he was born in Luton? The whole point of editing a page is when evidence comes to light.
To say that this evidence is somehow fake? When this would be Mr Robinson's detriment is laughable. BritishGrammar (talk) 11:59, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Here Here!! There is great debate now about Wikipedia and it's inaccuracies? Social media is a wash with people saying " Wikipedia is not an Encyclopedia and its content is added by people all over the world some of the times this is inaccurate" vibes. BritishGrammar (talk) 12:00, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Excuse me, the official documentation clearly states he was born in Ireland. I am half Irish and I am half English. I'm not bothered about anyone's ethnicity but I am bothered about the truth. BritishGrammar (talk) 11:58, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I am as your citizen. What you say is correct, but it's irrelevant to this discussion. He was born in Ireland. That is the truth of the matter. As others have said if new evidence comes to light the fact he was born in England, then we can correct the page Page. But as of yet the evidence to the contrary. BritishGrammar (talk) 12:02, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It is when there is a photograph of an official document clearly stating he was born in Ireland. Do we actually have proof he was born in Luton? Or was that just added because of common folklore? I suggest that now we actually have some evidence Wikipedia should edit this page to reflect the evidence we have. Should any evidence come to light contradicting this, which I doubt they will. Then we can edit the page again, but at the moment the evidence is clear. BritishGrammar (talk) 11:56, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Folklore? Wikipedia isn't about folklore it's about fact. Show me evidence he was born in Luton? Or are you just relying on folklore? BritishGrammar (talk) 12:06, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, I also respectfully request that the truth should be on Wikipedia it should a place of facts. The facts are he was born in Ireland. I find it reprehensible that we are locked out of this page and cannot edit. I have edited successfully many Wikipedia pages, maybe I've logged into the wrong account on Wikipedia because I'm sure I should have some privileges.
Wikipedia bases article content on published reliable sources. And with regard to biographies of living persons, we have specific requirements regarding sourcing. As of now, we have no sources at all for the claim that he was born in Ireland, beyond a couple of images posted on social media, the authenticity of which could not be determined even if they were acceptable under policy (they aren't, since we don't cite court documents etc). As of now, all we know is that sources have previously stated that Robinson was born in Luton, England, that he has used multiple aliases, and that he has previously been convicted for travelling under a false passport. WE don't know if the forms are genuine. We don't know if the information on them is correct. AndyTheGrump (talk) 12:07, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Sources? Unreliable sources high disagree strongly. I'm going to have to try to find someone higher up the Wikipedia food chain unless you can show me evidence contrary to the ones we have seen for ourselves, then I'm not going to agree. This man is dishonest he said several aliases, he has a criminal record, so the sources that state he was born in Luton need to be scrutinised. Show me the evidence? Because we have evidence to the contrary. Why would someone post a fake document which is actually his extreme detriment? His whole ideology is about being an English patriot? BritishGrammar (talk) 12:09, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I can assure you that you will find nobody 'higher up the Wikipedia food chain' that will support the violations of core Wikipedia policy that you seem to be proposing. We require proper sourcing for content for very good reasons, and we don't abandon them for political convenience. AndyTheGrump (talk) 12:13, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
We shall see. Because I keep asking you to show me evidence of the sources that he was born in Luton? And you fell to do so. So I will respectfully exit this conversation and I will attempt to contact someone who can show me evidence he was born in Lew and not just reply with blanket responses devoid of any substance. BritishGrammar (talk) 12:15, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
You're giving some misplaced importance to a social media post over more credible sources.
It's not his birth certificate, it's just some document from immgiration - how do you know, for example, that a mistake hasn't been made there.
If he's traveled on an Irish passport then maybe an immigration officer accidentally wrote Ireland as his place of birth, easy mistake to make. It doesn't make it fact just because it's written on one "official" document. 2A01:4B00:C018:AE00:A47F:3975:73A:1E0 (talk) 18:01, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
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This is also similar to Peter O'Toole, who often said that he was born in Ireland, although his birth certificate said that he was born in Leeds. There are WP:AUTO problems if a person's recollection of events is not matched by official documents that would be recognised in court.--♦IanMacM♦(talk to me)17:11, 28 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.