Two US political commentators banned from UK over 'antisemitic' rhetoric

Two prominent US political commentators who were due to speak at events in the UK this week have been banned from entering the country by the Home Office.

Cenk Uygur, the host of the Young Turks online political talkshow, and Hasan Piker, who runs his own hours-long stream each day, have been stopped from appearing at SXSW London, while the former said he had also been due to speak at an event run by University of Oxford students.

“I’ve been banned from the UK,” Uygur said on social media. “I tried to get on a flight to London to attend SXSW London and give a speech at Oxford. I’ve been banned for criticising Israel. Are we free any more? This is oppression of western citizens by our own governments on behalf of a different country.”

Responding to his post, Piker said: “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.”

Last week, the Labour MP David Taylor called for Piker to be prevented from speaking, saying his presence in the UK was “not conducive to the public good”.

SXSW organisers described Piker as “redefining what political commentary looks like in the digital age”, and said his live streams reached more than 30,000 people every day. Piker also has more than 3 million followers on Twitch and more than 1.5 million on X.

He has faced a backlash over some of his comments – including reportedly saying on a 2019 stream that “America deserved 9/11”, a comment he later apologised for and said was “inappropriate”.

He has also stood by his characterisation of Hamas as “1,000 times better” than Israel, and his claim that he “would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time”, in an episode of Pod Save America, the podcast hosted by former staffers for Barack Obama. Piker has said he is not antisemitic, but anti-Israel.

Last week, the Jewish organisation the Community Security Trust urged SXSW organisers to “act responsibly” and not allow the UK to be a “platform” for Piker, whom they accused of having a “record of promoting rhetoric that includes antisemitic themes, denial of well-documented atrocities and apparent support for extremist groups”.

Ash Sarkar, a journalist for Novara Media who was due to chair a discussion with Piker at SXSW, said on Monday that the decision was evidence of an “authoritarian turn motivated by Labour’s fear of being called antisemitic, and fear of being called out for their position on the genocidal war on Gaza”, adding: “You don’t foster community cohesion by having the government ban people from speaking.”

Uygur had been due to speak at the Oxford Union on Friday. Arwa Elrayess, the union’s president, said they were “deeply concerned” by the ban. “The Oxford Union was founded on a simple principle: that ideas should be challenged through debate, not ignored or silenced,” Elrayess said. “To this day, we defend freedom of speech; the right for our invited speakers to express themselves, and to be challenged, irrespective of political viewpoint.

“We will not allow this event to be shut down. The union is exploring all available options to ensure the discussion takes place, including hosting it online. At a time when others are retreating from free expression, the Oxford Union remains steadfast in its commitment to open debate.”

According to the Times, the decision to block Uygur, who briefly campaigned for the Democratic nomination in the 2024 US presidential election, is understood to have been based on concerns his presence would risk exacerbating antisemitism. He has been accused of propagating tropes by claiming Israel controls America, including by financial means. The paper reported that concerns had also been raised after he dismissed evidence relating to grooming gangs in towns such as Rotherham.

The Home Office said: “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.

“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 UK society. Where applications require further consideration, individuals may choose to apply for a visa if they still wish to travel to the UK.”

SXSW has previously said the event brings together a “wide range of speakers with different associations, affiliations and perspectives” and that “inclusion in the programme does not imply endorsement of all organisations with whom a speaker may be directly or indirectly affiliated”.