'I'm not sorry': Tommy Robinson blames 'admins' for false accusation post

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson has blamed his "admins" for falsely accusing a man of filming children in a park in Glasgow.

Footage of UK-born Quoroum Beg with a mobile phone in his hand began circulating last Sunday, with Robinson's X account labelling him an "invader".

Beg was in fact filming an anti-immigration demonstration which had earlier forced him and his children out of the park. An apology was later posted on Robinson's account, saying he had "got it wrong", adding "so for that I apologise and have deleted that post."

However Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has now denied any of the posts were sent by him.

He said: "I'm not sorry, because I didn't say anything."

Beg had taken his children to the park on Sunday evening, but at about 21:00 he became aware that an anti-immigration demonstration was heading his way.

He quickly walked his children back to their flat but returned to the park to collect his car.

"They were chanting and saying stuff about close the borders, save our children, and it was all directed at me," he told the BBC.

Beg decided to confront the protesters and filmed them on his mobile phone but later, after police advised him that it might inflame the situation, he moved away and sat down on some children's swings.

It was at this point that he was filmed by some of the demonstrators who then posted the video online, where it was shared by Robinson to his two million X followers.

In the footage people can be heard asking Beg "why are you filming kids?" and describing him as a "nonce".

On Wednesday, a post on Robinson's X account said: "In this instance I got it wrong, as did many others, so for that I apologise and I have deleted that post."

Beg told BBC Scotland News that the wording appeared to fall far short of an apology.

"Is he apologising because he can't get his facts right or is he apologising for the hurt he's caused me?" he said.

Then in another turn of events on Thursday, Robinson denied he had sent the apology or the original post.

In a recorded video posted on X, in which he is lying on a bed topless, Robinson tells his followers he still thought it was "pretty weird" that Beg was in the park.

He says "I'm not sorry at all" and swears, claiming he didn't say anything.

"I read all the headlines talking like I've said something that's not true, when that's not true – it was one of my admins," Robinson insists.

In the last 24 hours Robinson's account has since sent upwards of 30 posts, making accusations about politicians, describing London mayor Sadiq Khan as a "parasite" and calling for the deportation of all Muslims in America.

Beg earlier told the BBC he felt fearful of his safety after seeing the posts about him on Robinson's account.

He said: "My reputation has been tarnished through the world. I've seen videos where people around him attack people."

Glasgow has seen a number of anti-immigration demonstrations in recent weeks including one where the windows of a house were smashed. Police later said it was a case of mistaken identity after disinformation was spread online.

Videos have also been circulating of people dressed all in black, standing in military-style formation as they stage "silent vigils" in Glasgow and Edinburgh in memory of a white teenager who was murdered in 2004.

On Friday right wing Glasgow-based video blogger, Craig Houston, was stopped and questioned under anti-terror laws at Edinburgh airport as he returned from holiday in Greece.

Officers seized his mobile phone and laptop, according to Houston who has subsequently posted a new video about his detention.

Glasgow has traditionally prided itself on its friendly and inclusive ethos.

In 2021, hundreds of people turned out for a largely spontaneous protest in Kenmure Street to prevent two men being taken away in a van by Home Office Immigration officers.

In recent years, however, Glasgow has become one of the main dispersal locations for asylum seekers, and the number being accommodated has increased to one of the highest rates per head of population in Britain.

Dr Judith Sijsterman, a politics lecturer at Aberdeen University who is researching the far right in Scotland, told the BBC's Scotcast podcast that such protests attract both local people and groups where protesting and organising is a "massive part of their life".

She said: "They're maybe travelling across Scotland to these protests, they're maybe spending time online posting in 10, 20 different groups, they're creating AI images to advertise these protests."