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The
OLIVE PRESS GIBRALTAR
FREE Vol. 8 Issue 207
New faces rise THE GSLP will present four new candidates for the October 12 election, the Liberals will stick with their three and the GSD will put forward six new faces. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo announced the shortest possible four week campaigning period for the elections, pleading with the electorate to stick with his winning formula. “Now is not the time to change the team that is getting things done and keeping Gibraltar safe,” Picardo said. But from its seven original candidates, only three remain, Picardo himself, party founder Joe Bossano and environmentalist John Cortes.
Withdraw
In the days after the caretaker Chief Minister announced the election, former ministers for the last 12 years Samantha Sacramento, Albert Isola and Paul Balban said they would not stand for re-election. Long-term GSLP militant Pat Orfila, former mayor Christian Santos, lawyer Gemma Vasquez and insurance expert Nigel Feetham will take their places. The Liberals presented the same three candidates as last time leader Joseph Garcia, Steven Linares and Vijay Daryanani. Together Gibraltar decided to withdraw from the election altogether and said it would focus on its ‘grassroots efforts’ . But interim leader Nicky Calamaro said he might stand as an independent candidate. But one of TG’s 2019 election Continues on page 5
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FAR RIGHT BOLTHOLE REVEALED: Tommy Robinson’s luxury €1.6m villa where he filmed far-right podcast is owned by billionaire boss of Jaeger and Austin Reed EXCLUSIVE By Walter Finch & By Laurence Dollimore
AN investigation is underway into how Tommy Robinson accessed a stunning costa villa owned by a British billionaire to film his extreme far-right podcasts, the Olive Press can reveal. The former leader of the far right English Defence League (EDL) has been using the €5,000-a-month property of fashion tycoon Philip Day to promote a series of US and British extremists. Videos filmed at the €1.6 million villa show Robinson - real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - chatting with a string of white nationalist leaders and racists. It may come as a bit of a relief to Gibraltarians - Robinson had previously threatened to move to the Rock! They include Gavin McInnes, the founder of a white nationalist group ‘the Proud Boys’, which helped lead the shocking 2021 assault on America’s Capitol building. He also hosted Laura Loomer, an avowed Islamophobe so extreme that even former president Donald Trump was forced to distance himself from her. Other controversial figures are former Sikh EDL leader Guramit Singh Kalirai, rapper Young Spray and
MANSION: Owned by Philip Day (inset) used for far-right podcasts (right)
bare knuckle fighter Danny Christie. The hate-filled podcasts contain many homophobic, misogynistic and anti-Islamic statements, including referring to the Prophet Mohammed as a ‘paedophile’ and ‘rapist’. In one, Robinson supports notorious misogynist Andrew Tate, currently facing charges of human trafficking and rape in Romania. The villa in L’Albir, on the Costa Blanca, boasts six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, a swimming pool and a state of the art security system. According to public data from the Spanish land registry, the property is owned by EWM INVESTCO LIMITED, linked to British tycoon Day, 56, through his ownership of The Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group. The impresario - who owns a string of high street names including Peacocks, Jaeger and Austin Reed - denies any involveEXTREME PALS: Robinson (right) and McInnes ment in the podcasts. There is no suggestion the Stockport-born businessSee page 13 man, estimated to be worth €1.3 billion, had
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any knowledge of Robinson using the villa, nor that he has any links with him. When contacted by the Olive Press, a spokesman said Day was ‘shocked’ and ‘furious’ that one of his properties was being used by Robinson. “[The management company] will take immediate action if they find that Robinson still has any access at all,” he said. “They’re very grateful you’ve raised this and very keen to ensure it’s dealt with firmly and won't happen again.” But Neil Bennett of Maitland PR later explained he had been ‘misinformed’ and Day ‘is unaware of the situation’. “[Day] has no control or say over the company, which is managed by a professional team and owns multiple properties,” he added. But when later pressed, he finally admitted Day’s management company takes the allegations ‘very seriously’ and the team are ‘investigating the matter.’ Day, who is believed to reside between Switzerland and Dubai, is known to own a number of properties and businesses in L'Albir. Curiously, L’Albir is the same Alicante resort where Hitler-loving neo-Nazi Kris ‘Charlie Big Potatoes’ Kearney lived before being extradited back to the UK to be imprisoned on terrorism charges last year. Robinson, infamous for his anti-immigrant views, has also been hiding out in the area after breaking a High Court injunction in the UK for airing defamatory claims in his film ‘Silenced’. The controversial documentary could land him behind bars again after he previously had stretches for
assault, mortgage fraud, travelling on false documents and contempt of court. Several British expats said they have seen Robinson around in recent weeks and he is still believed to be staying in the area thanks to an Irish passport. It is thought that a network of sympathisers and direct online donations have been supporting his lifestyle. He posts frequent social media photos of his workouts and was even recently pictured posing for selfies with a young fan on Benidorm’s notorious party strip.
Trump
He also tucked into an ice cream in L'Albir with Loomer, who was tipped to join Trump’s campaign team until background checks revealed she had branded herself a 'proud Islamophobe'. Over 40 members of the Proud Boys have been charged for their role in the insurrection to overturn the US elections on January 6, 2021, with four receiving jail sentences so far, one as long as 18 years. Have you met Yaxley or Kearney? What do you think of them? Email newsdesk@theolivepress.es