YouTube has placed a series of restrictions on the channel of far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

The clampdown limits one of his key platforms of communication with his supporters, and comes after he was banned from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The YouTube restrictions mean his videos have been removed from search results and he can no longer live-stream to the platform.

Robinson's channel has more than 387,000 subscribers and his clips have had more than 24,000,000 views.

The restrictions mean his videos will no longer have view counts, suggested videos, likes or comments.

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Google-owned YouTube has also put in place an "interstitial" slate before his clips warning: "The following content has been identified by the YouTube community as inappropriate or offensive to some audiences."

Image: Robinson appears on a screen at pro-Brexit protests on 29 March

The move comes after YouTube removed adverts from Robinson's videos in January.

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This stopped the former leader of the English Defence League, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, from making money from his clips.

Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson wrote to Google's chief executive Sundar Pinchai in March, calling on him to remove Robinson's YouTube page as a "matter of urgency".

He wrote: "I would ask that you immediately close down all of Yaxley-Lennon's sites on YouTube before the virus of his views grooms countless more followers via your platform."

I have written to Google CEO @SundarPinchai calling on him, as a matter of urgency, to remove the YouTube page of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, aka Tommy Robinson. pic.twitter.com/3smqXuVr1u

— Tom Watson (@tom_watson) March 2, 2019

A YouTube spokesperson said the restrictions have been put in place after consulting outside experts and academics about the type of content appearing on his channel.

The company said in a statement: "After consulting with third party experts, we are applying a tougher treatment to Tommy Robinson's channel in keeping with out policies on borderline content.

"The content will be placed behind an inRead More – Source

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