LONDON: Britain’s interior ministry on Monday (Jun 1) said it had blocked two US-based politicalcommentators from entering the country.
Left-wing Israel critics Cenk Uygur, 56, and his nephew Hasan Piker, 34, had been due to speak at the SXSW London festival this week.
“These individuals’ Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) has been cancelled on the grounds that their presence in the UK may not be conducive to the public good,” the ministry said in a statement.
The United Kingdom has seen tensions in recent months after a string of attacks targeting the Jewish community.
Piker, 34, described by the festival’s website as a streamer and creator, had been expected to to speak at an event entitled “How The American Left Learned To Speak The Internet”.
Turkish-American Cenk Uygur, 56, the founder and host of The Young Turks, a left-wing YouTube channel, meanwhile, had been scheduled to take part in a discussion called “Techno-Feudalism Is Here. Who Are The Lords?” on Wednesday.
In a livestream in 2019, Piker sparked controversy when he reportedly said “America deserved 9/11”, a comment he later called “inappropriate”.
Uygur condemned the government’s decision to refuse him entry.
“I’ve been banned for criticising Israel. Are we free anymore?” he wrote on X.
“This is oppression of western citizens by our own governments on behalf of a different country,” he posted.
Piker added in his post: “the uk has revoked my visa as well. all at the behest of israel. the west is betraying ‘liberal values’ for a genocidal fascist foreign government. soon we will all become israel.”
The six-day London event, which runs until Saturday, is an offshoot of the Austin SXSW (South by Southwest) festival, combining live music performances, film and TV screenings with talks and panel discussions.
Last month, the British government also blocked US rapper Kanye West from entering the country for another festival due to his past antisemitic outbursts.
The organisers of the Wireless Festival in London where West — now known as Ye — had been booked to play all three nights in July swiftly cancelled the event.