Former leader of the English Defence League, Tommy Robinson, has been suspended from Twitter.
A message on Robinson’s “news” Twitter account on Wednesday suggested the ban was permanent. His account is no longer visible on the platform.
A Twitter spokesperson said it does not comment on individual account, but said the redirect people visiting Robinson’s account now see “indicates a permanent suspension”.
The spokesperson did not confirm what Robinson had been removed from the platform for, but directed HuffPost Uk to its Hateful Conduct policies.
Faith Matters, which works with communities to counter extremism, earlier today called for Robinson to be “expelled” from Twitter, with a spokesperson saying he believed the 35-year-old had now been banned three times.
“Tommy Robinson has been suspended on multiple occasions. He has breached the terms and conditions of Twitter and has used the platform to constantly malign fellow citizens who happen to be British Muslims,” a spokesperson told HuffPost.
“If he was vocal against Islamist extremism and terrorism, that would be no problem, but his language is also slanted towards maligning Muslims as a whole. That is not acceptable and what Twitter does by allowing this to carry on, is to give a green light that it is ok. It is not, since these comments do influence vulnerable people and strengthen bigots.”
Robinson’s backers on Wednesday tweeting their support for him after he appeared to make a request to a friend for help, asking “can you start a hashtag”.
A photo of a message exchange posted on Twitter suggested Robinson now believed his account was “gone” permanently.
Other Twitter accounts have since been set-up in Robinson’s name.
Robinson’s supporters later expressed disappointment the hashtag did not trend on Twitter and claimed they were being “suppressed.
Twitter is yet to respond to a request for comment about the suspension. This is the second time this month it has suspended Robinson’s account.
Breitbart claimed the earlier suspension happened after Robinson quoted research around the conviction rate for Muslim’s involved in grooming gangs in the UK.
Twitter removed Robinson’s verified blue tick status in November along with white supremacist, Richard Spencer, alt-right Mormon ‘Wife with a Purpose’ and alt-right commentator Laura Loomer.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had over 400,000 followers.
He has been contacted for comment, but is yet to respond.
Since leaving the EDL, Robinson became a co-ordinator for far-right group Pegida before joining Rebel Media, as a reporter. He has since left the company but still actively reports on current events.
Robinson’s suspension has been welcomed on Twitter with Dan Hett, whose brother Martyn was among the 22 people to die in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack, labelling the decision “ace”.
Charity Hope not Hate said Robinson shouldn’t be “surprised” by his suspension.
“Like any other social media company, Twitter is a privately-owned platform with a set of terms and conditions users have to abide by. There is no automatic right to this platform or any given social media outlet. If Stephen Lennon violates the rules he signed up to, then he shouldn’t be surprised at any suspension,” a spokesperson said.
“He is also perfectly able to keep voicing his opinions, as he has done so recently during his visits to Hyde Park, both in public and on many other outlets. The right to ‘free speech’ is not necessarily the right to voice one’s opinions on every form of social media.”
Earlier this month Facebook banned the pages of far-right group Britain First and its two leaders, Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen, for posting content designed to incite animosity and hatred against minority groups”.