Online commentators Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur barred from entering the UK for public events

LONDON — British authorities said Monday they blocked Hasan Piker, a Turkish American online streamer, and another political commentator from entering the U.K. to speak at public events.

Piker, a liberal political commentator who is frequently critical of President Trump, Israel and the war in Gaza, has 2.8 million followers on Twitch.

The Home Office said that the electronic travel authorization, or ETA, for Piker and Cenk Uygur, who hosts the “Young Turks” online political talk show and is reportedly Piker’s uncle, were canceled “on the grounds that their presence in the U.K. 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 U.K. society,” the Home Office said.

Piker and Uygur were due to speak at SXSW London, a culture, technology and creativity festival, this month. Uygur was also expected to give a speech at the Oxford Union, the prestigious student debating society.

“A sad state of affairs where obviously the interests of Israel take the highest priority,” Piker said on his YouTube channel.

Uygur said on X that he had been banned “for criticizing Israel. Are we free any more?”

Piker has faced criticism over some of his comments on the Hamas militant group, which is considered a terrorist organization in the U.K. and the U.S., among other countries.

In April, he said on an episode of the “Pod Save America” podcast that, “I’m a harm-reduction voter, I’m a lesser evil voter, and therefore I would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time.”

Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage, in an attack that triggered the war in Gaza.

Israel’s ensuing offensive has killed over 72,800 Palestinians, including more than 900 since the ceasefire took hold last October, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry is part of Gaza’s Hamas-run government, but staffed by medical professionals who maintain and publish detailed records that are viewed as generally reliable by the international community.

David Taylor, a Labor lawmaker who called for Piker to be blocked, said that “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.”

But Green Party leader Zack Polanski said that the government was “doing everything possible to silence criticism of the Israeli government.”

In April, the U.K. government barred the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, from entering the country, where he was scheduled to headline the Wireless Festival in London in July, after a backlash over his history of antisemitic remarks.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at the time that his government “stands firmly with the Jewish community, and we will not stop in our fight to confront and defeat the poison of antisemitism.”

Hui writes for the Associated Press.