Former White House adviser Stephen Bannon swore at a British radio host Sunday and called a jailed social activist “the backbone” of the United Kingdom, according to the host.
LBC radio political editor Theo Usherwood claims that Bannon erupted off-air after being questioned about his support for Tommy Robinson, the English Defense League co-founder serving a 13-month sentence for contempt of court.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was arrested in May for going on Facebook Live and showing a group of nine defendants believed to be Muslim entering court in a child-rape case, after previously being ordered not to do so.
Robinson’s supporters, including Bannon, argue he was acting as a journalist, and that authorities wrongfully restricted his speech rights.
“I don’t think Tommy’s a bad guy, I think he’s a solid guy and he’s got to be released from prison,” Bannon said during a Sunday show with former U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage.
“But he broke the law,” Usherwood told Bannon.
Off-air, Bannon unloaded, the journalist said on Twitter.
Bannon allegedly told Usherwood, “Fuck you. Don’t you fucking say you’re calling me out. You fucking liberal elite. Tommy Robinson is the backbone of this country.”
Bannon, who formerly led Breitbart News, did not respond to an emailed request for comment, but former Breitbart London editor Raheem Kassam claimed on Twitter that “[e]verything off air was agreed to be off the record.”
