Far-right UK activist Tommy Robinson says he was detained in Mexico

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -British far-right activist Tommy Robinson said he was detained upon arrival with his children at Mexico’s Cancun airport and will be deported, according to a video he posted Saturday.

Robinson, co-founder of the English Defence League (EDL) which has staged violent demonstrations against Islam, said he was arrested and separated from his three children. He had been detained for a couple of days, he said, without noting when he landed.

“Now, I’m being deported as a matter of national security,” Robinson said in an apparent selfie video taken inside a room and posted on the messaging app Telegram.

“I’m banned from Mexico … been here three times, never caused a problem.”

In another video on Telegram, Robinson said he was told the UK government had contacted the Mexican government and asked Mexico to deport him.

The British embassy in Mexico declined to comment. Mexico’s foreign ministry did not immediately have a comment.

Robinson has been convicted in the United Kingdom on several charges including fraud, stalking and assault, according to The Guardian newspaper.

(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Richard Chang and David Gregorio)