The far right loves to talk a big game about free speech, personal responsibility, and “not being offended”. Until, that is, one of their own is politely asked to leave a pub. Then it’s tantrums, threats and a coordinated campaign of fake outrage.
That, in short, is what unfolded in Bedford this week after the landlord of The Rose on the High Street refused service to Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – better known by his chosen alias, Tommy Robinson.
The Rose is not some flash new bar chasing controversy for clicks. It is a long-standing local pub, woven into Bedford’s social life for generations. On Monday, 29 December, Robinson turned up with friends for what was described as a night out. What followed was calm, lawful and entirely unremarkable – at least until Robinson’s online supporters decided to lose their collective heads.
In footage later posted online, the landlord can be seen politely but firmly asking Robinson to leave. He does not shout. He does not insult him. He does not escalate the situation. He simply makes it clear that Robinson is not welcome.
Robinson, speaking off camera, repeatedly demands a reason. He doesn’t get one – because under UK law, a pub licensee does not have to give one. A landlord can refuse service to anyone, provided it is not for a protected characteristic such as race, sex or disability. Political views, notoriety, or simply not wanting someone in your pub are perfectly lawful grounds.
The landlord explains that he is “from Luton”, that he knows exactly who Robinson is, and that he does not want him in the pub. “I don’t feel you need to be in my pub,” he says, plainly and without drama.
Robinson presses on, making unverified claims about other customers. The landlord refuses to be drawn, replying: “I’m not going to ruin your night, you can go wherever you like, but I don’t want you in my pub. It’s that simple.”
That should have been the end of it. Robinson was free to go elsewhere. No one was arrested. No punches were thrown. Door staff later stepped in, and police appear to have attended briefly, with no reports of violence.
But for a movement that prides itself on being “anti-woke”, this was apparently an unbearable affront.
In a longer follow-up video, Robinson and others can be seen arguing with staff outside the pub. At one point, a voice off camera threatens: “I’m going to shut down your pub. Watch.” A familiar pattern: when fascists don’t get their way, they reach for intimidation.
Then came the online pile-on.
Shortly after the videos circulated, The Rose was hit by a wave of negative online reviews that bear all the hallmarks of coordination. People who clearly do not live in Bedford – some openly stating they are in Lincolnshire or Scarborough – suddenly felt compelled to leave one-star ratings for a pub they almost certainly have never set foot in.
One review even claims the writer was “also thrown out” for their “personal political views”, despite no evidence they were ever there. None of the negative reviews posted after the incident provide any proof of genuine custom. No dates, no details, no receipts – just outrage on demand.
This tactic is depressingly familiar. When far-right figures are challenged, they rarely rely on facts or law. Instead, they attempt to bully, harass and economically harm ordinary people who refuse to indulge them. In this case, a local landlord doing his job has been targeted for the crime of exercising his legal rights.
Robinson himself, notably, has had nothing to say about the matter on his main social media platform, X (formerly Twitter). Instead, his supporters have done the dirty work for him, flooding review sites and trying to manufacture a scandal where none exists.
Local politicians have rightly called it out. Cllr Henry Vann, leader of Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats, described the campaign as “pretty disgusting”, condemning “a small-minded fascist’s mates trying to pile on bad reviews for a popular local pub just because he wasn’t served there”.
He urged people who have actually visited The Rose to leave honest reviews and to support the pub – a reminder that real communities still matter more than online mobs.
The irony, of course, is overwhelming. The same people who sneer about “snowflakes”, who whine about cancel culture and insist businesses should be free to operate as they choose suddenly believe a pub should be punished for choosing not to serve a man whose entire career is built on division, provocation and grievance.
The landlord didn’t lecture. He didn’t censor. He didn’t ban anyone from speaking. He simply said, “Not in my pub.”
And for that act of quiet, lawful refusal, the far right responded in the only way it knows how – by melting down, crying persecution, and trying to destroy a local business from behind a keyboard.
If anything, the episode has exposed who the real snowflakes are.
