UK army launches probe into soldiers posing photo with far-right figure
After Tommy Robinson -- the former leader of the far-right Islamophobic group English Defence League (EDL) -- shared his photo, that was taken along with a group of young soldiers, on social media platforms, the British army has opened a probe into the incident by saying: "Anyone who is in breach of the army's values and standards will face administrative action."
- World
- Anadolu Agency
- Published Date: 12:00 | 10 October 2018
- Modified Date: 12:28 | 10 October 2018
The British army has launched an investigation into photographic evidence showing the former leader of the far-right Islamophobic group English Defence League (EDL) with a group of young soldiers.
Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, shared the video and photo on social media platforms.
The army said it was aware of the photo and footage, and was "investigating the circumstances surrounding this."
"Anyone who is in breach of the army's values and standards will face administrative action," an army spokeswoman said.
"Far-right ideology is completely at odds with the values and ethos of the armed forces," she added.
The army statement went on to say that "the armed forces have robust measures in place to ensure those exhibiting extremist views are neither tolerated nor permitted to serve."
"Values and standards within the army play a vital role in training and development, with personnel completing annual mandatory training," it added.
- 'DOES NOT REPRESENT OUR ARMED FORCES'
Imam Asim Hafiz, Islamic religious adviser to the armed forces, said that "any form of racism, discrimination or extremism is taken extremely seriously and will be dealt with accordingly."
He added: "The armed forces remain absolutely committed to welcoming individuals from across all faiths and cultures into its ranks."
Robinson founded the English Defence League in 2009 as an Islamophobic organization, and members of the group routinely engage in violence during marches and demonstrations.
Robinson has also publicly called out against Muslims living in the U.K. and has led many "mosque invasions" as part of the EDL's Islamophobic campaign.
Meanwhile, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said Robinson "does not represent our armed forces, however much he tries to claim otherwise."
Robinson "will rile against the very real steps taken to make the military more diverse," the MCB said.
"We welcome the swift statement by the army in disassociating itself from the far-right and we hope that safeguards are put in place to ensure that Islamophobia will have no place in our armed forces," it added.