Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and a rather suspicious grift

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, the far right football hooligan who likes to be known as Tommy Robinson, is back on the quest for cash, this time emailing supporters asking for £100,000 in donations to pay for his next big day out in London.

The convicted criminal sent his database a message claiming he was “under massive pressure” and telling them: “A few days ago, I sent you the invoice for the deposit for our next ‘Unite The Kingdom’ rally in London.” (Unite The Kingdom was a far right rally Yaxley-Lennon organised last September, during which 37 police officers were injured and a further 11 assaulted.)

“A few moments ago, I checked our records and I noticed that you haven’t responded to the email yet,” he goes on. “I have re-forwarded the email message to you again below – please take a quick look. If this wasn’t a serious situation, I wouldn’t be messaging you today. In these circumstances, I have no choice.”

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Yaxley-Lennon’s weird random italicisations aside, what is noteworthy is that the money is being directed to a company called Thinking Independent Media Ltd, which Companies House records show has a sole director, Adam Geary, better known as “Nem”, one of Yaxley-Lennon’s closest advisers since the days of the English Defence League.

It also shows that York-registered Independent Media Ltd’s accounts are long overdue, with them supposed to have been filed by November last year. In December, it received a First Gazette Notice, a formal public warning that Companies House intends to dissolve a firm by striking it off the official register.

“The Registrar of Companies gives notice that, unless cause is shown to the contrary, the Company will be struck off the register and dissolved not less than 2 months from the date shown above,” it says. “Upon the Company’s dissolution, all property and rights vested in, or held in trust for, the Company are deemed to be bona vacantia, and will belong to the Crown.”

As the campaign group Truth Against Hate, who first uncovered the email, says: “Robinson calls himself a patriot. Setting up companies, collecting donations and leaving liabilities behind does not fall on him. It falls on creditors and, in the end, the taxpayer.” Quite. As things stand, Independent Media Ltd is due to be struck off by the end of this month.