Why is Tommy Robinson suddenly so focused on UAE-linked conflicts?

Anyone who has followed Stephen Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson) over the years will have noticed the vast amounts of money he has acquired through his hateful activism. Expensive clothes, large houses, flashy cars, and blingy watches have all been funded by his gullible supporters. It is also well known that he has received financial backing from wealthy benefactors such as Elon Musk, Robert Shillman, and the Middle East Forum.

However, some of his recent social media activity raises questions about whether he might be receiving money from elsewhere. Or if not money, it certainly points to something strange going on. 

If you have been watching Lennon’s social media accounts since he burst onto the scene in 2009, the content can feel repetitive: endless posts about Muslims, migrants and transgender people, mixed with videos of him ranting to a camera, forehead vein pumping, while on holiday somewhere sunny.

A new interest in Sudan? 

Then, in October 2024, he released a slickly produced video that didn’t quite fit his usual pattern. Standing by the Thames, Lennon launched a furious attack on Qatar, shouting, “Fuck Qatar.” The video appeared to have been filmed by Visegrád 24, a so-called “news” outlet run by Lennon’s long-time ally Stefan Tompson. 

Towards the back end of 2025, he then released a series of other posts that raise further questions. In September, he posted an attack on Turkey, accusing it of supplying weapons to one side in the ongoing Sudanese civil war:

The following day, he added:

Had the Muslim Brotherhood regime in Turkey not provided weapons to jihadists in the war in Sudan, the war would have ended with a clear defeat for the Muslim Brotherhood. Turkey portrayed peace while inflicting death and misery on the Sudanese people, causing widespread despair.

It is extremely odd for Lennon, whose typical concerns are much more domestic, to appear invested in the Sudanese civil war. Moreover, these posts don’t read like his usual content. Since when has Lennon been knowledgeable about Turkish drone technology and electronic warfare systems?  

He returned to the topic in October, posting:

Adding in another post, “The UK government, alongside the UN, pointing the finger at UAE, they’re complicit in the cover ups and deaths of innocent people.”

Is something weird going on? Why would Lennon care about what’s going on in Sudan? We can’t help but wonder if his sudden, detailed interest in the civil war might have something to do with a regional enemy of Turkey. 

The Sudanese civil war has attracted a number of proxy nations helping the different factions, and one has caught our eye: the United Arab Emirates. They are hostile to Qatar, but back the Rapid Support Forces that are at war with the military government, which is backed by Turkey. 

When these unusual posts are viewed together, a pattern emerges: the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Confusingly, Lennon’s only previous mention of the Sudanese Civil War came back in February 2024 when he criticised the UAE backed Rapid Support Forces. So what’s changed? 

The topic, the mention of specific weapons, and the overall tone all raise the question of whether Lennon actually wrote them himself. The picture becomes even murkier when one looks through Visegrád 24’s feed on X, which is full of fawning pro-UAE content.

Trip to Dubai 

The plot thickened at the end of last year when Lennon took a trip to Dubai. Most of the headlines focused on him being confronted by the boxer Ty Mitchell during an interview at a Misfits Boxing event. Less attention has been paid to the primary purpose of the trip. “I’m here under the invite of Emirates who I’m here to meet tomorrow to discuss terrorism organisations in the UK,” he said. 

In a video posted to his subscriber-only Substack he added, “Do you know what’s mad? I go to Columbia, I get detained, I get booted out. I go to Mexico, I get detained, I get deported. […] I landed here [Dubai], I sailed through. I just sailed through.” Odd indeed. Before adding with a smile, “I wonder if I get, you know the accusations I get, [you are] a Zionist working for Israel, do you think people will say I’m working for the UAE?”

Now Yemen? 

Not long back from the UAE, Lennon decided to start the year with a flurry of very specific X posts about the ongoing war in Yemen. Once again, they don’t read anything like his usual social media posts:

Some peoples in MENA region are resisting against terrorism over there and trying to live in peace as we do here. Such as Southern Yemen people. In Yemen’s fractured landscape, true unity starts with Southern Yemen’s cohesion—from Hadramout to Al-Mahra—as a cornerstone for regional peace.

In another he criticised the Yemeni parliament for issuing a statement “attacking and threatening the Southern Resistance in Yemen.” 

Since when has this notorious anti-Muslim activist been into taking sides in conflicts like Yemen. Again, perhaps the UAE’s involvement might provide an answer. The UAE has strongly backed the Southern Transitional Council against the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels and the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, which is internationally recognised as the government of Yemen. 

A coincidence? 

Perhaps all this really is a coincidence. Maybe Lennon has developed a genuine and passionate interest in the wars in Sudan and Yemen, and a particular dislike of Qatar. Maybe he has been brushing up on Turkish drone technology and the complexities of cohesion in Southern Yemen. And maybe he decided to write these X posts in a style he’s never used before. 

Or perhaps something else is going on?