By Abigail Archer
Britain’s Labour government has banned Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur, American leftist commentators, from entering the U.K., according to multiple statements released Monday.
Piker, a Turkish American and a leftist online streamer, has repeatedly criticized President Donald Trump, the war in Gaza, and Israel. Uygur, who is Piker’s uncle, co-founded the online political talk show “Young Turks.” He is a well-known critic of Israel.
Piker and Uygur were set to speak this month at SXSW London, a festival focused on technology, culture and creativity. Uygur had also planned to speak at Oxford Union, a respected student debating society with ties to the University of Oxford.
The Home Office canceled their electronic travel authorization (ETA) “on the grounds that their presence in the U.K. may not be conducive to the public good,” according to its statement released Monday and quoted by the Associated Press (AP).
“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 added.
SXSW London released a statement acknowledging the Home Office’s decision and emphasizing the festival’s focus on “open dialogue.”
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 criticizing Israel. Are we free anymore? This is oppression of Western citizens by our own governments on behalf of a different country!
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) May 31, 2026
“Decisions on entry to the U.K. 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,” the festival said, according to TheWrap.
“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 festival stated.
Uygur and Piker slammed the United Kingdom’s decision on Sunday, citing their stance on Israel as the reason they were banned.
“I’ve been banned from the UK,” Uygur said in a post on X. “I tried to get on a flight to London to attend SXSW London and give a speech at Oxford. I’ve been banned for criticizing Israel. Are we free anymore?”
“This is oppression of Western citizens by our own governments on behalf of a different country!” Uygur added.
Piker expressed a similar frustration.
“The UK has revoked my visa as well,” he wrote, according to TheWrap. “All at the behest of Israel. The West is betraying ‘liberal values’ for a genocidal fascist foreign government. Soon we will all become Israel.”
British officials expressed contrasting views on the commentators.
David Taylor, a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), had called for Piker to be blocked prior to the Home Office’s decision.
“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,” Taylor said — referencing allegations the two had vocalized support for Hamas — according to AP.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski disagreed, arguing that the government was “doing everything possible to silence criticism of the Israeli government,” according to AP.
The U.K. banned Kanye West from entering the country in April, citing his own antisemitic comments as the reason for the ban. West had planned to come for the Wireless Festival, which was later canceled.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer commented in April on West’s planned participation in the festival.
“Antisemitism in any form is abhorrent and must be confronted firmly wherever it appears,” Starmer said, according to the BBC. “Everyone has a responsibility to ensure Britain is a place where Jewish people feel safe.”
But the U.K. has faced growing criticism from free speech advocates.
Rose Docherty, a 75-year-old grandmother, was arrested outside Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in February 2025 for holding a sign that read, “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.” She stood within the 200-meter “safe access zone” protected by Scotland abortion law, according to Fox News.
The U.S. State Department called for the protection of free expression at the time of her arrest.
Police in Scotland arrested a woman holding a sign offering to talk to people in a restricted “buffer zone.” Freedom of expression needs to be protected. We call on governments, whether in Scotland or around the world, to respect freedom of expression for all.
— Assistant Secretary Riley Barnes (@StateDRL) February 26, 2025
“We call on governments, whether in Scotland or around the world, to respect freedom of expression for all,” the department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, & Labor (DRL) said in a post on X.
Charges against Docherty were dropped in April 2025.
“This is a victory not just for me, but for everyone in Scotland who believes we should be free to hold a peaceful conversation,” Docherty said in a statement, according to Fox News.
Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan was arrested in another free speech case in September 2025.
Linehan, the creator of Father Ted, was detained by five officers at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of inciting violence. Linehan was reported by a transgender former police officer for a “hate crime” based upon three social media posts in which he criticized transgender activists.
Linehan emphasized that his arrest illustrated a free speech problem in the U.K.
“I think my case proves that there is a terrible free speech problem in the U.K., but sadly, I’ve seen that happen now for eight years,” Linehan said in an interview with Fox News Digital after his arrest. “They just want to put you in a cell and scare you into not talking about certain issues.”
“This is totalitarianism. Utterly deplorable,” British author J.K. Rowling wrote in a post on X after Linehan’s arrest.
Prosecutors dropped the case after a five-month investigation, and the Met police issued an official apology to Linehan last month. The Met Police report allegedly called the arrest lawful but the investigation “flawed and misunderstood” because investigators wrongly focused on transgender criticism in his posts instead of “the alleged incitements to violence,” according to The Telegraph.
The Free Speech Union, which supported Linehan’s legal case, applauded the police apology and described Linehan’s arrest and detention as “an unacceptable interference in his right to free speech,” the Telegraph reported.
