US political commentators denied entry to UK by Home Office

The US citizens and left-wing content creators with huge online followings were due to speak at the SXSW London festival and Oxford this week. Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur blocked from entering UK by Home Office Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Left-wing streamer Hasan Piker is one of the two commentators who had their visa revoked to enter the UK for SXSW London. Left-wing streamer Hasan Piker speaking while seated US political commentators denied entry to UK by Home Office Two left-wing content creators have been blocked from entering the United Kingdom after they said the Home Office revoked their visas. US citizens Hasan Piker, who is a Twitch streamer and political commentator and Cenk Uygur, who co-founded and hosts left-wing populist show "The Young Turks" on YouTube, were both due to speak at the SXSW London festival and an event in Oxford. The pair have blasted the UK government, claiming they were "banned for criticising Israel". Piker has come under fire for making pro-Hamas comments while Uygur has called Israel's actions in Gaza "barbaric". The Home Office has been contacted for comment. The host of "The Young Turks" commentary show Cenk Uygur, who had his UK visa revoked The host of "The Young Turks" commentary show Cenk Uygur speaking with his hands stretched open Posting on X, Uygur said: "I've been banned from the UK. "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." Replying to this post, Piker wrote: "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 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." It is understood that both men had their Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) cancelled. A decision to cancel an ETA can be based on assessment of the potential risk someone might pose to the UK public good. Labour MP David Taylor, who last week called for Piker to be barred from entering the UK, thanked the home secretary for the decision. "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," Taylor wrote on X. SXSW London is a six-day event in East London's Shoreditch that holds talks about business, technology, music, film and culture. A spokesperson for the event said they were aware the pair were unable to travel to the UK because of the Home Office revoking their visas. "Decisions on entry to the UK are a matter for the Home Office and the individuals concerned. "SXSW London's role is to convene a broad range of diverse voices and perspectives." "We remain focused on delivering a programme this week fostering open dialogue and exchange of ideas and featuring more than 800 speakers, artists and screenings," the spokesperson added. Piker has a daily audience of 30,000 for his hours-long streams on the Twitch platform, according to a profile on the SXSW London website, which has since been taken down. He was listed at an event called "How The American Left Learned To Speak The Internet". Uygur was scheduled to be part of a discussion called "Techno-Feudalism Is Here. Who Are The Lords?". Other comments from Piker include a 2019 statement that "America deserved 9/11" which he later acknowledged was inappropriate. He also stood by comments saying Hamas was "1,000 times better" than Israel and he "would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time" in an episode of Pod Save America. Piker, who is Uygur's nephew, told Variety last year that he was not antisemitic but is "anti-Israel". The Community Security Trust, a Jewish community group, said in a statement that it welcomed the decision to bar Piker from entering the UK and "the government's recognition that there must be consequences when public figures cross the line into hate speech". "While criticism of Israel is entirely legitimate, Piker has a record that goes far beyond robust or controversial political speech, including rhetoric that contains antisemitic themes". Green Party leader Zack Polanski described the visa denials as "a really grim decision". "People often talk about [the] dangerous road we'd go down under a Reform government - this is another clear warning we're down there already. "A Labour government doing everything possible to silence criticism of the Israeli government." Liberty Human Rights group also criticised the government's decision, as director Akiko Hart said "in recent months we have seen the government preventing people from entering the UK where their speech is deemed to have crossed the line". "It is important that any Government decisions that restrict speech adhere to the very high standards set out in UK law – and that the Government is transparent about why and how decisions have been made." Uygur's show, The Young Turks, covers topics including US politics, global conflict, sports and pop culture and is one of the most popular shows of its kind on YouTube, attracting hundreds of millions of monthly views. The Times reports that the decision to block Uygur is based on a range of things, including what the paper calls "antisemitic tropes, such as the claim that Israel controls America" and comments about grooming gangs he made on Piers Morgan's YouTube show. reports that the decision to block Uygur is based on a range of things, including what the paper calls "antisemitic tropes, such as the claim that Israel controls America" and comments about grooming gangs he made on Piers Morgan's YouTube show. The visa denial comes after earlier this year Kanye West, now known as Ye, was blocked from coming to the UK after the Home Office said his presence would not be conducive to the public good. The visa denial comes after earlier this year Kanye West, now known as Ye, after the Home Office said his presence would not be conducive to the public good. In recent years West has caused outrage for a string of antisemitic, racist and pro-Nazi comments. The government also blocked 11 foreign nationals described by Sir Keir Starmer as "far-right agitators" from entering the UK ahead of a Tommy Robinson-led rally in central London last month, including US-based anti-Islam influencer Valentina Gomez. The government also blocked 11 foreign nationals described by Sir Keir Starmer as "far-right agitators" from entering the UK ahead of a Tommy Robinson-led rally in central London last month, including US-based anti-Islam influencer Valentina Gomez Hasan Piker is sat on a brown chair facing across the camera to the left, wearing a grey suit, white shirt and necklace chain on a stage with blue background at the Politicon event in 2018. Pro-Gaza streamer says he was detained at US airport A man wearing a light-coloured polo shirt, a beard and black baseball cap rides a motorbike carrying one child in front, another behind him followed by a woman wearing a headscarf and holding the child on her lap. 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Dominic Hall will be doing fundraising live stream on Twitch on 13 February. Some say they've lost interest in social media since the ban, while others say nothing has changed.