LONDON: The UK has banned two of America’s most prominent left-wing political commentators from entering the country, preventing them from appearing at a string of high-profile events amid a row over their criticism of Israel.
Cenk Uygur, host of the online political talk show “The Young Turks,” and Hasan Piker, a popular political streamer on Twitch, were both blocked from appearing at SXSW London — an annual film, media and music festival.
Piker has more than 3 million followers on Twitch and 1.5 million on X. Uygur was due to appear at an event organized by students at the University of Oxford.
“I’ve been banned from the UK,” the latter 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 criticizing 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 that the UK revoked his visa as well. “All at the behest of Israel,” he added.
