BBC Radio 4 was facing fury from listeners yesterday after giving Raheem Kassam, former editor of Breitbart London, a platform on its flagship Today programme to discuss the release from prison of Tommy Robinson, ex-leader of the right-wing English Defence League (EDL).

Robinson was released on bail on Wednesday after winning an appeal against a jail term imposed in May for filming people involved in a criminal trial and broadcasting the footage on social media.

Kassam, who has led pro-Robinson rallies and publicised his case, appeared on the programme – which has lost 800,000 listeners in the past year – in a pre-recorded interview from Washington with presenter Martha Kearney.

The former Ukip leadership candidate denied that there was anything contentious in a quote from Robinson threatening all Muslims in Britain with the “full force” of the EDL.

Kassam is in Washington raising money for Robinson and linking up with former head of Breitbart News and ex-Donald Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon, in a bid to unite “patriotic nationalist parties” in Europe.

“There’s nothing far-right about us,” he said. “I’m a Muslim immigrant background chap from Uxbridge in West London.

“Steve is a Virginia Democrat, he was a Kennedy Democrat.

“What we’re going to do over the next couple of months, and people are going to see it, is we are going to build a legitimate, a serious organisation that is doing things legally and above board that will help unite what we think of as patriotic, populist nationalist parties around the continent and we’re not gonna do anything untoward, except take the rhetorical fight to the extreme left.”

However, his views were not debated on the programme, leading to a barrage of criticism from listeners.

Arthur Snell, a former UK diplomat, tweeted: “Complain to BBC News about Radio 4 Today decision to interview Raheem Kassam about a technical legal question relating to Tommy Robinson.

“Kassam isn’t a lawyer but he is a far right propagandist.”

Tory MP, Johnny Mercer, said: “Those who asked me to help ‘Free Tommy Robinson’ need to seriously question their judgement. He’s a fool, a thug and a joke. The perceived alignment of him and UK Veterans/Military interests disturbs me.

“He represents everything we fought against. A clown in clown’s clothing.”

A BBC spokesperson said: “Martha Kearney’s interview robustly challenged Raheem Kassam’s opinions and assertions on Tommy Robinson and Islam. She also clearly explained the legal points around his release on bail and impending re-trial.

“We believe our job is to give our audience facts, analysis and information, especially in the case of contentious issues which are surrounded by misinformation.”