U.K. blocks visit by two left-wing U.S. political commentators

Two American left-wing political commentators have been barred from entering the U.K. this week to attend speaking engagements. Cenk Uygur, a Turkish American who founded Justice Democrats, a progressive political funding group, and Young Turks, a long-running online show, said he was banned from two events in the U.K. this week.

Commentator and influencer Hasan Piker, who is Mr. Uygur’s nephew, also said his visa has been “revoked”. The 34-year-old had previously courted controversy for his views and remarks, including his comments on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, his stance on Hamas and his use of derogatory language to describe Orthodox Jews. Mr. Piker had said in 2019 that the U.S. “deserved 9/11”, later saying his comments were “inappropriate”.

The U.K. Home Office confirmed to The Hindu that the travel authorisations for both individuals were cancelled because their presence would not be conducive to the public good.

“I’ve been banned from the U.K. I tried to get on a flight to London to attend SXSW London and give a speech at Oxford,” Mr. Uygur said on X, adding that he was banned for criticising Israel.

Mr. Uygur, who had also briefly entered the fray in 2024 for the U.S. Presidency through the Democratic primary race, characterised the situation as oppression by Western governments of their own citizens on behalf of a third country. “It’s an honour to have made Israel’s enemies list. I’m very proud to have fought against their genocide,” Mr. Uygur said in a second post on X.

The decision to ban Mr. Uygur, The Times reported, was partly due to his rhetoric since Hamas’s attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, and related to fears that his visit would incite antisemitism in the U.K. The travel ban, according to The Times, was also partly due to the commentator dismissing evidence in the case of grooming gangs in places such as Rotherham, where official probes identified more than 1,400 victims of sexual abuse.

‘Absurd decision’

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called the travel ban an “absurd and cowardly decision” and an assault on the freedom to criticise Israel.

“Soon we will all become Israel,” Mr. Piker said on X, as he referred to the government of Israel as genocidal and fascist. Mr. Piker posted a video of his 2025 address to the Oxford Union in which he had cautioned against linking a criticism of Israel’s actions with Judaism and conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.

“There’s no reason to open our doors to those who seek to spread hate and division, especially to those who’ve supported a proscribed terror group,” Labour MP David Taylor said. Mr. Taylor had earlier asked for the government to ban Mr. Piker from entering the U.K.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood had also banned 11 far-right figures from entering the country to take part in a ‘Unite the Kingdom/ Unite the West’ demonstration organised by far-right figure Tommy Robinson in May this year.