British immigration officials announced Monday they have prevented two political commentators from entering the United Kingdom for planned speaking engagements.
The commentators affected are Hasan Piker, a Turkish American who streams political content online, and Cenk Uygur, who runs the “Young Turks” internet political program and is said to be Piker’s uncle. Piker, who regularly criticizes U.S. President Donald Trump, Israel and the Gaza conflict, has built a following of 2.8 million on the Twitch platform.
Immigration authorities revoked the electronic travel permits for both men, stating their entry “may not be conducive to the public good,” according to the Home Office.
“Decisions to refuse or cancel an ETA on these grounds are based solely on an assessment of the potential risk an individual may pose to U.K. society,” the Home Office explained.
Both men had been scheduled to appear at SXSW London, a festival celebrating culture, technology and creativity, happening this month. Uygur was additionally set to address the Oxford Union, the well-known student debate organization.
Responding on his YouTube channel, Piker stated: “A sad state of affairs where obviously the interests of Israel take the highest priority.”
On the social media platform X, Uygur wrote he had been prohibited “for criticizing Israel. Are we free any more?”
Piker has drawn controversy for certain statements, including expressing support for the Hamas militant organization, which both the U.K. and U.S. classify as a terrorist group.
Hamas-led fighters launched an assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths and 251 people taken captive, sparking the current Gaza war.
A Labour lawmaker named David Taylor, who had advocated for blocking Piker’s entry, stated that “there is no reason we should open our doors to those who seek to spread hate and division, especially someone who’s supported a proscribed terror group.”
However, Green Party leader Zack Polanski argued the government was “doing everything possible to silence criticism of the Israeli government.”
This action follows a similar decision in April when British authorities prevented rapper Ye, previously called Kanye West, from entering the country for a scheduled London festival performance following controversy over his antisemitic statements.
At that time, Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared his administration “stands firmly with the Jewish community, and we will not stop in our fight to confront and defeat the poison of antisemitism.”
