Amazon has refused to pull merchandise in support of Tommy Robinson after it and other online companies were accused of profiting from products promoting far-right extremism.

Items including T-shirts bearing the image of Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – were removed by eBay after the Guardian approached the company about the listings. The former English Defence League (EDL) leader was released this month after serving nine weeks of a nine-month sentence for contempt of court.

On Amazon, a plethora of books, posters and T-shirts – in some cases given an “Amazon’s choice” designation, which the company accords to “highly rated, well priced products” – continue to be sold.

The company said it had no comment when it was approached about the sale on its platform. The array of Robinson-related paraphernalia appears to have been limited since he was jailed earlier this summer although Amazon continues to sell T-shirts with logos such as #IamTommy and #freeTommy against a union flag logo.

The anti-racism campaign group Hope Not Hate said: “While individuals have every right to buy and sell Tommy Robinson merchandise, the real question here is why global brands such as Amazon and eBay appear happy to share in the profit from products promoting a far-right extremist.

“Are they comfortable with the fact that merchandise being sold on their platform is being worn and distributed at far-right demonstrations, some of which turn violent?”

EBay said the items breached its offensive materials policy, which prohibits the sale of “items that promote or glorify hatred, violence, racial, sexual or religious intolerance, or promote organisations with such views”.

An spokesperson for eBay, said: “Listings of this nature are strictly prohibited on our marketplace. We have removed these items and have taken enforcement action against the seller.”

Google Shopping continues to sell a range of T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Free Tommy Robinson”, including some inspired by the Tommy Hilfiger logo.

Robinson was jailed for broadcast reports that encouraged “vigilante action” and “unlawful physical” aggression against defendants in a sexual exploitation trial, according to the judges who found him guilty

Earlier this year, YouTube defended its decision to keep Robinson on its platform, arguing that the far-right activist’s content on its site is fundamentally different from the posts that led Facebook and Instagram to delete his account last week.

Amazon also removed one of Robinson’s books, Mohammed’s Koran: Why Muslims Kill For Islam from sale. But his autobiography remains on the site, along with books about Robinson, including one entitled Tommy Robinson and the Coming Civil War.

He has been permanently banned from Twitter after falling foul of the platform’s rules governing “hateful conduct”.