Facebook deleted Tommy Robinson's private profile, public page and Instagram account this afternoon.

The social media giant accused the English Defence League founder of encouraging violence against Muslims online.

Mr Robinson, 36, has hit back claiming that the ban is due to a film he made accusing mainstream media of demonising him and slammed the move as 'censorship'.

Tommy Robinson (pictured) has been removed from the platform and accused of calling for violence against Muslims

This is what will greet followers hoping to gain access to Tommy Robinson's Facebook page

Instagram has also removed the EDL founder's account, Facebook has revealed today

The Pegida UK founder - who was banned from Twitter in March last year - boasted more than a million followers on his main Facebook page until the site kicked him off today.

Facebook said in a statement that when opinions amount to hate speech that may intimidate certain groups in society it must 'take action'.

The site accused Mr Robinson of 'repeatedly' flouting rules designed to prevent 'organised hate' on the site.

'Tommy Robinson's Facebook Page has repeatedly broken these standards, posting material that uses dehumanizing language and calls for violence targeted at Muslims,' it said.

Tommy Robinson (pictured with supporters after his contempt of court hearing was adjourned last October) has now been banned from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

Tommy Robinson (pictured addressing a rally in Salford, Greater Manchester on Sunday) has now been banned from three major social media platforms

Mr Robinson said he had not heard of his ban from Facebook, claiming the 'corrupt media and the establishment' were trying 'to silence any opposition to their globalist plans'.

He added: 'When putting me in prison and trying to kill me hasn't worked, when then trying to get mainstream documentaries to destroy my name with false allegations, that hasn't worked.

Tommy Robinson's full statement on the ban The 36-year-old activist believes he has been banned from Facebook and Instagram due to a documentary he made in which he argued that media coverage of him was biased. He said: 'This is in response to my expose documentary called Panadrama, which exposed the establishment working with Hope not Hate, working along with the media, in order to bring me down and destroy me. 'Now they have realised that that has not worked, they're working with the tech giants to remove us completely 'Where is free speech? I've breached no laws of Facebook, everyone is going to know that I've breached no rules, what I've done is shown people the truth and that is what they are removing, the truth. People will still find me. 'People will be astonished by this censorship, especially witnessing it in response to my expose documentary.' Advertisement

'Now, the establishment, which has gone for the plan of completely removing me from the public sphere - people will fight against this censorship, people will not like this censorship.

'You're not just censoring me, you're censoring the public's option of listening to what I have to say. This is a complete attack on free speech which is going on across the world.'

A spokesman for Momentum, the grassroots movement supportive of Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party, said: 'Hate speech isn't free speech and spreading racist lies shouldn't be tolerated on our shared digital platforms.'

Emails and tweets from Tommy Robinson were used as evidence in the trial of Darren Osborne, who was convicted of murder for driving a van into worshippers outside two mosques in London, to show his path of 'radicalisation' before committing the attack in June 2017.

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation who has campaigned against grooming gangs in Rochdale from within the Pakistani community, said he welcomed the ban and claimed he had met with Facebook representatives to 'discuss the concern of the British Muslim community that Tommy Robinson's continued presence on social media was leading to further radicalisation of his supporters'.

'This is not about free speech or silencing criticism or questioning of Islam and Muslims, this is about hate speech and hatred towards one community,' Mr Shafiq said, adding that he had contacted Google and YouTube to urge them to take similar action.

Supporters of Tommy Robinson waved flags as they showed out to back the EDL founder while he faced the courts last year

The EDL founder and self-styled journalist is pictured being arrested while filming outside court, which he was told put a grooming trial at risk

Fans of Tommy Robinson lined the street in October last year outside the Old Bailey in central London as he faced court

Tommy Robinson shared this Instagram snap when he was on the way to the Old Bailey for his court appearance, during which supporters showed their support for him outside

In January YouTube blocked Mr Robinson from making money from his videos.

The Google-owned video platform stopped his channel, which has nearly 300,000 subscribers, from advertising under rules preventing 'hate speech'.

The ban came one day after YouTube removed adverts for Britain First from the platform for breaching rules which prohibit content promoting 'hatred, intolerance or discrimination'.

'We have suspended ads on Tommy Robinson's YouTube channel as it breaches our advertising policies,' a YouTube spokesperson had said.

Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, claimed the incident was 'censorship'.

Last year he was banned from Twitter and online payment platform PayPal, both of which cited their rules on hate speech as reasons.

Today's Facebook and Instagram bans have received a mixed response on social media, with some expressing concerns that it is an attempt to shut down free speech, others alleging that it is in response to Mr Robinson's recent film, which was the focus of a rally in Salford this week.

Some critics of the activist - who has also worked as a journalist for Rebel Media - have welcomed the measure.

Pressure group Hope Not Hate welcomed the decision today to remove profiles belonging to Mr Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.

Its chief executive said: 'Stephen Lennon is a far-right thug who uses his platform to bully, abuse and stir up division, monetising his hatred to earn huge sums while hiding behind a fake free speech mantle.

'Lennon has a long record of abuse towards minorities such as Muslims, so we welcome today's decision as well as Facebook's continued actions in cleaning up their platform.'

It comes just days after Mr Robinson appeared to make racist comments while asking for a taxi driver, which he described as 'little p*** that drives a car' in a drunken video.

In the video, which he shot on his phone, he also rants about being 'the king of the whole Islam race' and fighting for Israel if war broke out with Palestine.

Going on Facebook to respond shortly after the video was published by The Sun on February 13, Robinson said the video was shared between friends in a private group.

He claimed he was very drunk when the video was made and his comments were 'banter' after he also bragged he could score 'gear' in the country.

He denied he had bought drugs in Qatar, which he claimed was near-impossible, and said Asian and black friends were in the messaging group with whom he shared the video.

Last month, YouTube suspended adverts on Robinson's account, saying he breached rules which prohibit the promotion of 'hatred, intolerance and discrimination'.

Mr Robinson also waded into a row following the targeting of a Syrian refugee at a school near Huddersfield.

A bully was filmed headbutting a 16-year-old called Jamal before dragging him to the floor, pouring water over his face and threatening to drown him.

Following the incident, Mr Robinson took to Facebook to falsely accused the victim of attacking three English girls and a boy.

Last month the youngster's family announced that it was pursuing legal action against Facebook for allowing 'defamation' on the social media platform.