Tommy Robinson banned by Snapchat

Far-right figure now barred by all major social media sites

Stephen Yaxley Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, photographed in Whitehall

(PA)

Tommy Robinson has been banned from Snapchat after violating the app’s community guidelines.

The far-right figure, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, said his account was terminated on Friday morning.

Robinson set up the account under the name trcensored1682, on 27 March.

On Friday the English Defence League (EDL) founder was ”unable to login to his account and received a ‘Snapchat Account Termination’ email”, according to a post on his website which features screenshots of the message.

The Independent understands the account was found to have violated Snapchat’s community guidelines, which prohibit hate speech and harassment.

The far-right figure will be unable to set up another account on the app.

Robinson has also been banned from Instagram, Facebook and Twitter after using hate speech.

YouTube refused to delete the 35-year-old’s account but has vanished his videos internally, meaning they will not show up in search results or recommended viewing sections. However, a Google search returns his channel as the top result. Google owns YouTube.

On Friday the EDL founder said he was planning to launch a Telegram account “that cannot be shut down”, as mainstream social media platforms continue to remove his content.

In November, Robinson was appointed by Ukip leader Gerard Batten as the party’s adviser on grooming gangs and prisons, and has since set up a website with a mailing list.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Tell MAMA UK, an anti-Islamophobia group, said it approved of Snapchat’s move.

“We welcome Snapchat’s decision to ban Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) from their platfom for breaching its terms of service,” a spokesperson said.