Tommy Robinson appears to have clocked up hundreds of thousands of pounds in donations from his supporters over the past eight years, with allegations that some of the funds raised for victims were not passed on, according to a year-long investigation into Tommy Robinson’s finances.
The researchers believe the true value of donations sent to Robinson could be even higher, potentially in the millions.
Robinson appeals for money from his supporters every week, making pleas to his 3.8 million social media followers, but also in emails to subscribers seen by The i Paper.
The hefty cost of Burnham’s slick social media campaign
Andy Burnham is spending up to £1m a year on expanding No 10’s social media operation, The i Paper can reveal, as the Prime Minister tries to connect with audiences on TikTok and Instagram.
Here’s where that money is going.
Where do the figures come from?
The Cabinet Office advertised 13 roles in July
Lowest salary – £37,922
Social videographer.
Highest salary – £80,342
Head of social and creative production.
Total cost – £1.04m
if everyone is paid the highest band offered, including pensions and national insurance.
7 min read
Where is the money going?
What do colleagues think?
Burnham’s dedication to promoting the Government’s work on social media has been celebrated by Labour colleagues, after his predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer, was criticised for a lack of communication skills while prime minister.
One such Labour MP told The i Paper: “Burnham’s just got that touch when it comes to communication. … We’re getting way more cut-through already.”
2 min read
Burnham vs Starmer
- In his first 90 days on TikTok, Starmer received 59.3 million views to Burnham’s 78.1 million.
- Burnham has hit 752,000 Instagram followers since taking office, with his predecessor peaking at 852,000 after two years.
3 min read
France artwork heist – multiple pieces stolen from Renoir Museum
Two thieves tried to steal four artworks from a museum dedicated to the impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir in southern France on Tuesday, dropping two paintings as they fled the scene.
What we know
Two thieves carried out the raid at the museum in , near Nice, on Tuesday morning, officials have said.
- Wire fencing was cut for access, and museum alarms went off at 5:48am local time, according to the local mayor.
- However, the pair .
Cagnes-sur-Mer’s mayor, Bryan Masson, described the perpetrators as”well equipped” and “well informed” when speaking to the media on Tuesday.
In comments translated from French, he said the thieves “were wearing helmets, gloves, and combat gear” and carried “an electric knife and hacksaw” to cut the fence and gain access to the garden.
Video footage then showed the group cutting through structures holding the paintings’ frames in place before they began their escape, Masson said.
The stolen works
The four works initially targeted in the heist – Portrait of Madame Pichon (1895), Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano (1910), Coco Lisant (1905) and Jeune fille au puits (1886) – were valued together at over £7.7m, according to reports from France.
According to an update from the local mayor’s office later on Tuesday morning, the two pieces the thieves made it out with were: (left above) and Jeune femme au puits (next slide).
Also missing: Jeune fille au puits
- Prior to the robbery, the Renoir Museum was home to 12 paintings by the artist, who died in 1919.
- The museum was opened in 1960, in Renoir’s last home before his death.
- This heist comes less than a year after eight items valued at about £76m were stolen in a daylight robbery from the Louvre in Paris.
2 min read
Watch more from The i Paper
How the King’s pointed letter ‘surprised’ Harry and Meghan
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were “surprised” by the release of a letter on behalf of King Charles, which clarified their status as “akin to private citizens”, a spokesperson for the couple has said.
Here’s what we know.
No titles, little warning
- A top Buckingham Palace official sent the letter to military officials and Government departments on Monday.
- It stated that as non-working royals, the Sussexes will not use the titles of “His and Her Royal Highness”.
- The couple “were a little surprised not to have been told about this in advance,” their spokesperson said.
- Their team was still seeking guidance when it was released, The i Paper understands.
2 min read
No chance for clarification
The Sussexes did not have enough time to clarify any points before the guidance was issued to the media, it is understood.
- The letter’s contents were reportedly shared with their team at 1:59pm.
- Team Sussex replied to Buckingham Palace at 2:19pm, seeking clarification on one or two points.
- The letter was revealed to the media at 3:06pm on Monday.
- Harry was in a meeting and could not be contacted until 3:09pm.
- Team Sussex received confirmation at 3:11pm that the letter had been sent to the media.
Why are the titles important?
The reference to the HRH title was seen as an attempt to slap the Sussexes down amid concerns that the couple may want to monetise their royal status, including via Meghan’s lifestyle products brand, As Ever.
The title was seen in a video Meghan posted accompanying a podcast last year.
6 min read
Harry, a ‘private citizen’?
- The letter clarified that “in short, their position is akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests”.
- But a friend of the couple previously told The i Paper that Harry, as the King’s son, could never be an entirely private citizen.
- “Some people will say, ‘But they’re private citizens.’ Nonsense. Utter nonsense. They are two of the most high-profile people in the world,” the friend added.
Not a quiet word in your ear, not a private memo; no, this was a formal, blunt statement of fact sent to Harry on his father’s orders. Ouch! There is to be no doubt: the King is not going to be bounced into accepting any change in the Sussexes’ status just because they have chosen to return to the UK.
2 min read
3 min read
No ‘half in, half out’ option
Charles and Prince William are said to be worried that family members doing business deals alongside official duties for the state opens themselves up to the sort of abuse of position accusations facing the King’s brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
- This led to them clarifying that Harry and Meghan won’t be attending state functions or official engagements.
Who will fund the Sussexes’ security?
The couple returned to the country for what they called an extended period on 26 August, after quitting royal duties in 2020. Their children have reportedly been enrolled in English schools.
The row over who will pay for their security is ongoing, with the couple currently paying for it but lobbying the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) – which is set to meet this week – for taxpayer-funded police protection.
Watch more from The i Paper
Recent newsletters, which address the recipient repeatedly by their first name throughout, have asked for money to pay for his ex-wife’s court costs and to finish a documentary he is working on.
“Chip in whatever you can,” the letter asks, before ending with a large red donation button labelled “YES I WILL HELP”.
Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has rattled the tin for funds towards his own legal fees, holding events and to raise money for victims, including grooming gang survivors.
He has also secured sums from the world’s richest man, Elon Musk.
But tracking the volume of donations is difficult, as Robinson does not make this public. Harder still has been following the money pledged to others.
When the donation link in his emails stopped working recently, Robinson’s team suggested this had “stopped hundreds, maybe thousands, of our supporters from donating”.
has analysed the donations that are visible, namely those made in cryptocurrencies. Crypto payments do not reveal who has made a donation but the amount of money donated is recorded. also analysed company filings, court records and public documents.
What the Dispatches investigation found
Multiple people Robinson has raised funds for, including a survivor of a grooming gang, told they never received money from these appeals.
Campaigning on grooming gangs is one of the core issues Robinson has become known for. This includes fundraising for survivors. One survivor posted online to say that she received $5,000 (£3,700) following a fundraiser promoted by Robinson in 2025, according to .
The programme also found that in September 2025, Robinson promoted a now-defunct cryptocurrency coin on X that had been set up to help generate funds for himself. He pledged to donate a “percentage” of the money to five women he had interviewed for a series of films he made about grooming gangs. He said: “Each one of those five girls who we told a story will financially benefit from this, provided that… we’re meeting our target.”
One of those women, Kate, not her real name, is a survivor of Telford’s grooming gangs and was interviewed for the documentary.
When asked if she had received any money from Robinson’s fundraiser, she told the programme: “No. I’ve not heard anything. I’ve not heard of that at all. So if it’s going to Telford grooming gang survivors, I don’t know about it… I’m shocked by that… He’s using me, basically.
“I am very angry because I’m sat here literally struggling… while other people profit from my pain and suffering.”
Kate, who suffers from PTSD, claimed Robinson had coaxed her into taking part in a documentary film for him for £500 on the promise that her identity would be concealed. However, when Robinson’s documentary aired, he included her real name.
He also included a recording of a phone call she had with the influencer where she discussed taking her own life. Kate stated she was unaware the call was being recorded.
Fraud and gambling allegations
Sir Max Hill, former director of public prosecutions for England and Wales, was shown Kate’s testimony. He told Channel 4: “Well, I think that it’s likely to be fraud… It’s clearly wrong, isn’t it, to say to a victim of crime, I’m raising money for you, and to say, to the general public, I’m raising money for that victim, when the victim neither knows about it, nor do they receive a penny.”
reports they found other, similar examples, including funds promised for a headstone that failed to materialise. put these claims to Robinson. He said that he believed money had been sent to the deceased man’s family.
He also said he could not pay Kate because she broke off contact with him and his team. Robinson said he initially tracked her down because he feared for her safety. He maintains that other survivors did receive donations.
Robinson denied to the programme that he had used Kate’s “suicidal crisis to make money” or that her call to him was “broadcast against her will”. He also told that he denies breaching any request for anonymity. He says Kate saw the final cut of his film before release and was “content with it” – something Kate denied to Channel 4.
alleged that £6,000 in Bitcoin from a donations wallet set up to support Robinson may have been spent on gambling.
Robinson rejected the evidence put forward by the broadcaster that “donor funds – cash, crypto, or otherwise – were a gambling float”.
Has Robinson broken the law?
Robinson, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2014 after he pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud, may have broken the law again, the Channel 4 investigation alleged.
report claims Robinson may have lied while giving evidence under oath in the High Court about his involvement in a company run by his ex-wife. This could trigger a police investigation into whether perjury took place. Robinson denies this.
The reporters also found that four companies that handled donations for Robinson have never filed accounts, which is illegal.
Dispatches: Tommy Robinson: Where’s The Money Gone? will be available to watch and stream on Channel 4 at 10pm on Wednesday 9 September