Don’t know how I missed this, but a few days ago “Tommy Robinson” (real name Stephen Lennon), leader of the fascist English Defence League, claims he was assaulted:
“He described his attackers as being of Asian appearance and said they were wearing jeans and bomber jackets, with one wearing a checked scarf.
When the story appeared in the extremist Gates of Vienna blog on December 22, the “attackers of Asian appearance” were more precisely described as “a group of Pakistani youths wearing knuckle dusters.” Then, apparently shooting for the moon, Lennon sent a follow-up note to GoV: were shouting ‘allahu akhbar’ and ‘Merry Christmas, Tommy’.” (Readers can find this material at GoV, but no link here.)
The first reference above is to the story as it appeared in the local Luton newspaper, six days after the frenzy at GoV. Note that, despite Lennon’s assertion that he didn’t contact the police because they allegedly don’t care about assaults on white people, the local constabulary has indeed launched an investigation.
A well-done and frequently humorous slapdown of the whole yarn appears here. There seems to be some evidence that a football hooligan club called Men In Gear had something to do with whatever beating Lennon might have received. And the bit about the eyeshadow is worth the price of admission.
Should we, in any case, be surprised by the bizarre reaction of increasingly erratic SunTV program host Michael Coren, who has interviewed Lennon several times on his show?
English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson beaten up by Muslim gang, in hospital with numerous fractures. Religion of peace at work again.
This wasn’t just a one-off. Coren’s reference to “multiple fractures” appears to be entirely made up—not even the EDL claimed any such thing. One might, however, have expected more than the black eye and fat lip in this photo had Lennon really been clobbered by three men with with brass knuckles as he asserts.
Behold the difference between journalism and flacking, folks, and mark it well. If you want undiluted EDL codswallop, by all means tune into Michael “It’s not BlackBerries, it’s Black thugs” Coren. But for serious follow-ups, I suggest we keep our eye on the sober Luton Today, which has been following young Lennon’s adventures for some time. Check out this seeminglyneverending story, and then ask yourselves if his uncorroborated word can be taken as gospel by any but the terminally credulous.