Bridgend councillor claims Tommy Robinson was ‘treated unfairly’

Emily Price

A Bridgend councillor has lamented the “dark times” we live in while defending Tommy Robinson, claiming “the system” had treated the far-right figure “unfairly again”.

Restore Britain councillor Owain Clatworthy blamed “the state and the media” in a post to Facebook on Wednesday (October 28) after Robinson was found guilty of harassing two journalists and causing them to fear violence.

Cllr Clatworthy wrote: “Tommy Robinson has been found guilty. It is my view that the system has, again, treated him unfairly.

“We live in dark times.

“The state and the media have spent years trying to destroy the one man who told the truth about the rape gangs while everyone else looked the other way.

“He was right. They were wrong.”

Cllr Clatworthy appeared to be parroting similar comments made by his party leader Rupert Lowe.

In a post to X published earlier in the day, Lowe wrote: “Tommy Robinson has been found guilty – it is my view that the system has, again, treated him unfairly.

“We live in dark times.”

Robinson could face up to 10 years in prison for his crimes after freelance reporter Andrew Young and Daily Mail editor Jacob Dirnhuber felt forced to either leave their homes or employ extra security for fear of a “vigilante” attack.

The former leader of the English Defence League (EDL) whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon took to social media after the hearing to call the verdicts “insane”.

Robinson’s trial heard he had “retaliated” after the Daily Mail and its sister publication MailOnline published a story about him “stoking riots from his sunbed” during unrest in the UK in August 2024 following the murders of three girls in Southport.

Robinson’s supporters in the public gallery let out sighs of disappointment as the verdicts were given to the court.

The anti-Muslim activist sat down and shook his head quietly after the verdicts were given, and stared at the jury.

In the comments beneath Cllr Clatworthy’s post about Robinson, some Facebook users made unevidenced claims and exchanged conspiracy theories, suggesting the judge had steered the jury towards a guilty verdict.

Others argued Robinson was given a fair trail with the jury returning a 10 to 2 majority verdict.

Cllr Clatworthy’s public support of Robinson comes after he invited associates of the far-right figure into Bridgend Council’s debating chamber.

Leaders of the extremist group Voice of Wales – Dan Morgan and Stan Robinson – posted clips online of them carrying out a fawning interview with the former Reform Senedd election candidate earlier this month.

Stan Robinson is a failed UKIP candidate while Morgan is convicted fraudster who was handed a suspended prison sentence in 2023 for his involvement in a massive insurance scam that robbed vulnerable people of their savings.

During the interview, Cllr Clatworthy, who is an Evangelical Christian, told his critics to “go fuck themselves” adding that he had nothing to lose.

Hundreds of complaints about Cllr Clatworthy’s behaviour has prompted calls by Bridgend Council’s leaders for new powers allowing voters to remove local representatives between elections.

A public petition calling for the Restore councillor’s removal from the council has gathered more than 2,500 signatures.

He has faced severe backlash for a series of highly controversial public statements he has made since scraping his win in Bridgend under Reform UK’s banner in May last year.

Weeks after his victory, Cllr Clatworthy secretly tried to defect and join the Labour party.

He defected from Reform UK to Restore Britain in May after Nigel Farage’s party placed him last on its Bridgend list for the Senedd election, signalling it had little interest in him winning a seat.

Since jumping ship, Cllr Clatworthy has faced widespread accusations of Islamophobia and homophobia.

In posts to Facebook he said that “Islam is not compatible with Western civilisation” and branded a rainbow-painted picnic bench at a shopping outlet a “mandatory ideology”.

In recent weeks, Cllr Clatworthy has faced resignation demands for spreading a false claim online that a transgender sex offender had been released early into the Bridgend community.