Tommy Robinson has travelled to Russia, where he has met Elon Musk’s father, Errol, in a Moscow hotel.

Robinson – who has been issuing calls for his supporters to take to the streets across the UK over a bloody knife attack in Belfast – shared video of his meeting with Musk, whose son has been a vocal supporter of Robinson, on Monday.

Musk was in St Petersburg last week at the annual Kremlin-backed economic forum, described as Russia’s answer to Davos.

Contacted by the Guardian and asked why he had travelled to Moscow, Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, said: “I’ve come to see how this country got itself so well on to the straight and narrow and see the beauty of a civilised society here.”

Pressed on his presence in Russia, which is regarded by the British government as hostile state, Robinson said: “Russia is not the enemy of Britain. That narrative has long since died a natural death. There are those who benefit from pushing Russia as an enemy but everyone laughs at those people now.”

Robinson’s appearance in Moscow comes three weeks after the latest UK rally organised by him drew tens of thousands of people on to the streets of London.

The former BNP member and founder of the English Defence League was also feted in the US earlier this year by figures from the Maga right, meeting a Trump administration official at the state department. He later told the rally in London that he had secured funding from wealthy US backers at the trip.

Robinson is known to have previously been in Russia in 2020, where he said in an interview that he hoped Britain and Russia could cooperate to preserve Christian values and identity.

His latest appearance in Russia also comes as Andrew Tate, the self-styled misogynistic influencer, is also in Russia with his brother, Tristan.

The Russian regime has made a point of courting western far-right figures and others such as Tate, who has aligned himself with positions such as Russia’s state-sponsored homophobia and amplified Kremlin messaging.