AN exciting plan to reform the EU by France and Germany could see the UK rejoin as an ‘EU lite’ member. The logical move would see the removal of onerous restrictions on the movement of Brits in Europe. Under the change, Britain would get ‘associate membership’ of the bloc and regain frictionless access to the single market. In exchange, the UK would need to accept certain obligations, including paying into the EU budget and allow freedom of movement. Such a development could spell the end of the loathed visa restrictions imposed on Brits and second-home owners in Spain. Under current post-Brexit rules, UK residents are limited to spending no more than three months out of every six in Spain and the rest of the Schengen zone.
Relationship
The rule has been exceptionally unpopular both with Brits forced to stay at home and Spaniards who have lost out on their business. The news emerged as Labour leader Keir Starmer expressed the need to strengthen the relationship between the UK and France during a meeting with President Macron this week. Starmer's vision of closer ties with Europe is likely to be a vote winner in next year’s general election. The British public have firmly turned their backs on Brexit, according to polls, with a clear majority (56%) insisting it was a mistake against just 32% still in favour. The report, commissioned by Germany and France, will be top of the agenda at the summit of the European Political Community - including the UK - in Granada next month. Up until now both the Tories and Labour had trod extremely carefully over their Brexit positions ahead of the general election. Despite the Liberal Democrat Party strongly supporting a reverse, they have ruled out any form of associate membership of the EU.
LEADERS: Starmer and Macron
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OLIVE PRESS
The
BREXIT U-TURN HOPE
MALLORCA
WOLVES Your expat
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FREE Vol. 6 Issue 165 www.theolivepress.es September 22nd - October 5th 2023
Friends or foes? Special report page 6
FAR RIGHT BOLTHOLE
REVEALED: Tommy Robinson’s luxury €1.6m villa where he filmed far-right podcasts is owned by billionaire boss of Jaeger, Peacocks and Austin Reed AN investigation is underway into how Tommy Robinson accessed a stunning Spanish 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. They include Gavin McInnes, the founder of 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 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 hum a n
EXCLUSIVE By Walter Finch & Laurence Dollimore in L’Albir
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 involvement in the podcasts. There is no suggestion the Stockport-born businessman, estimated to be worth €1.3 billion, had 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
MANSION: Owned by impresario Philip Day (inset) used for far-right podcasts (bottom) 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 EXTREME PALS: Robinson (right) and McInnes after he previously had stretches for assault, mortgage fraud, travelling on false documents and contempt of court. Several British expats they have seen See pages 8 & 11 said Robinson around in recent weeks and he is still believed to be staying in the area thanks to an Irish
Tel: 952 147 834 TM
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. 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 Opinion Page 6