Tommy Robinson plans to charge A$995 to have dinner with him on Australia speaking tour

Unclear whether anti-Islam activist will be granted visa after Washington trip cancelled

Far-right figurehead plans to tour Australia in December (AFP)

Tommy Robinson is planning a speaking tour of Australia where followers would pay almost A$1,000 for a “private dinner” with him – even though it is unclear whether he will be allowed into the country.

“Australia get ready,” the anti-Islam activist posted on Facebook, describing the trip slated for December as “exciting”.

The plan is for Robinson to speak at five venues around the country, including in Sydney and Melbourne, alongside male chauvinist and far-right commentator Gavin McInnes.

A promotion website calls them The Deplorables, using Hillary Clinton’s description of “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic” Donald Trump supporters that has since been reclaimed by them.

It lists five events in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, the Gold Coast and Sydney from 5 to 16 December.

The tour could generate significant profits for Robinson after his fundraising activities were hit by a ban from PayPal.

Tickets are being sold at A$85 (£47) for general entry, A$295 for a “VIP meet and greet” including a photograph with Robinson, and A$495 for a “backstage pass” including an after-show party.

But the most expensive option comes in at A$995 per head, which buys “a pre-show dinner with The Deplorables, champagne reception and VIP seating for the show”.

It comes after Robinson’s planned trip to Washington to address Republican members of the US Congress was cancelled because his visa was not granted in time for Wednesday’s event.

American think tank the Middle East Forum, which organised the event, told The Independent Robinson would be speaking via video link instead.

“Mr Robinson’s visa was not denied,” a spokesperson added. “His application is still in the ‘administrative processing’ phase and we are confident that he will be granted entry to the US at a later date.”

The English Defence League founder’s extensive criminal record, including convictions for violence, drug possession, public order offences and fraud, may prove fatal to his hopes of entering Australia.

A spokesperson from the Australian Department of Home Affairs told The Independent they could not comment on individual cases but outlined strict requirements.

“All non-citizens entering Australia must meet the character requirements set out in the Migration Act 1958 prior to the grant of any visa,” a statement said.

“For visitors who may hold controversial views, any risk they may pose will be balanced against Australia’s well-established freedom of speech and freedom of beliefs, amongst other relevant considerations.”

Australian authorities say only people with no substantial criminal record – meaning prison terms totalling more than 12 months – and showing “good general behaviour” are likely to meet the requirements.

Robinson was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for mortgage fraud in 2014 and 13 months for contempt of court in May – although that was overturned on appeal in August and the attorney general is considering whether to continue the case.

The 35-year-old, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was also jailed for 10 months in 2013 for using a friend’s passport to enter the US illegally, and served another sentence for actual bodily harm in 2005.

The Australian government website says it will not grant a visa to people who may “vilify a segment of the Australian community” or “incite discord”, and may demand police documents and character statements.

Authorities let other far-right figures, Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux, enter the country for another speaking tour earlier this year, but their plans were hampered by protests and boycotts that caused engagements to be cancelled.

The organisers of Robinson’s tour have taken precautions aiming to avoid a repeat of the disruption, by withholding the exact location of events until 24 hours before.

The website describes Robinson as a “man of the British people” and hails McInnes’s “controversial, no-holds-barred opinions”, which have caused him to be banned from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for violating policies on hate speech.

Gavin McInnes addresses a crowd during a conservative rally in Berkeley, California, last year (AFP/Getty) (Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty)

McInnes, who is Canadian, founded the male chauvinist Proud Boys group and formerly worked for the same far-right Rebel Media outlet as Robinson.

He has vocally supported Robinson and appeared at one of his court dates in London in September.

Both men have since left Rebel Media and crowdfund to produce their own videos.

Robinson has enjoyed a surge in donations since his imprisonment and said last month there was still “a pot in excess of a few hundred thousand pounds” left after legal costs.

But he was set back by PayPal’s decision to ban him from using its payment system for donations last week.

In a video posted to Facebook, he said the platform had accounted for 70 per cent of his financial support and appealed to followers to use bitcoin instead.

PayPal said it did not comment on individual accounts, but said in a statement: “We do not allow PayPal services to be used to promote hate, violence, or other forms of intolerance that is discriminatory.”