BARROW Council is owed money by English Defence Leader founder Tommy Robinson - who claims he is bankrupt.

An insolvency expert has been appointed by the controversial activist's creditors to try to claw back the money he owes before a March deadline.

Mr Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, declared himself bankrupt last March - but campaigners believe he is sitting on £3 million in assets.

He is said to owe around £2 million to his creditors, which also include HMRC and a former business partner, as well as the council, according to the BBC.

Barrow Council has refused to divulge how much it is owed and what for by the activist.

Barrow's MP said he hopes the council gets its money.

"I very much hope that the court orders him to pay up soon," Simon Fell said.

"He can pop the cheque in the post - we certainly don't need another visit from him."

Last year a judge ordered Mr Robinson to pay £100,000 to a refugee schoolboy he had wrongly accused of attacking a girl.

He also owes an estimated £1.5 million in legal costs for the boy's lawyers.

The activist has visited Barrow several times, drawing condemnation from the community.

He journeyed to the town at least twice in 2020 to join rallies in support of a woman allegedly the victim of sexual exploitation.

He was arrested following a report of assault on a man in Hollywood Park but police took no further action.

Mr Robinson also stopped in the town while campaigning for his election to the European Parliament in May 2019.

Anti-fascist campaigners were among those protesting as he addressed supporters outside Barrow Town Hall.

Campaign group Hope not Hate says he has enough in assets to pay the money to creditors and his legal fees.

The group is fundraising to pay for the cost of the independent insolvency expert Heath Sinclair of Richard Long & co to investigate his assets.

The expert has until March 3 to find any assets or money that Mr Robinson could be hiding, otherwise he will come out of bankruptcy without having to pay all the money he owes.

The firm has also refused to provide any further information on what Barrow Council is owed.

Hope not Hate says it has reason to believe that Mr Robinson has access to assets worth up to an estimated £3 million, gained through property acquisitions, company investments, donations and book sales, and will be supplying evidence to the new investigation.

Chief executive Nick Lowles: “Hope not Hate is putting together a detailed dossier which will assist with revealing the truth as to how and where Tommy Robinson has hidden his assets.

"To help us ensure that the new investigation has the resources it needs to conduct its work properly and has the means to begin asset recovery, we are asking people to donate to our fundraising campaign."