There’s no denying that former EDL leader Tommy Robinson is a polarising character, but is simply fraternising cause to lose your job?

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That is the question that we’re faced with today as it emerges that a soldier that was pictured laughing and singing with Tommy has been discharged from the army. Tommy uploaded the video of him meeting the troops and them singing his name at Watford Gap services to his Facebook page on Monday and once it hit the news, the army started examining it, ultimately leading to the unknown soldier’s dismissal.

The army did justify this by saying he had a very poor disciplinary record beforehand and this was the straw that broke the camel’s back, but is this really a fair punishment? Major General Rupert Jones tried to explain it with the following words:

The British Army is absolutely clear that we do not tolerate extremist views and we don’t tolerate extremist behaviour.

I am very confident that is a widely held position across the Army. Much of the reaction to that incident from our people tells you that.

The Army absolutely encourages diversity in our teams. We are stronger for diversity – we have very high expectations and standards and we will comply with those.

I mean I suppose that does make sense if this video contradicts the core values of the institution, but it seems a bit much that only one soldier was made an example of when every one of them seems pretty buzzing about their meeting. I’m no fan of Tommy Robinson but I respect the right of people to have their own beliefs, so I’ve gotta say I think this is a bit of a screw up from the army. We’ll see how this unfolds.

For more Tommy Robinson, check out his full letter from prison recently. Deep.