A PROMINENT left-wing activist and streamer has told The National Podcast that he “genuinely didn’t think” the UK Labour Government would go so far as banning him from entering the country over his criticism of Israel.
Hasan Piker, a political streamer with 1.9 million YouTube subscribers, told The National’s podcast that he had “freely travelled” to the UK both under the previous Tory administration and while Keir Starmer has been in Number 10.
It emerged earlier this week that Piker and Cenk Uygur, the co-founder of the left-wing political programme The Young Turks, had both been blocked from entering the UK.
Piker and Uygur had their Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs) revoked, with Green Party leader Polanski and Your Party leader Jeremy Corbyn both condemning the Labour Government after it emerged.
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The Times reported that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood had decided to ban Uygur from the UK as it could “risk exacerbating antisemitism due to his rhetoric”, as well as “concerning” comments about grooming gangs, and alleged “misogynistic slurs” he has made in the past.
Piker, who is known online as HasanAbi and previously worked with The Young Turks, said at the time that the UK had also revoked his visa “at the behest of Israel”.
Going into further detail on The National Podcast with editor Laura Webster, Piker said he was a “little bit worried initially” when he saw reports about “certain Israel sympathetic advocacy organisations” were demanding he should be barred from the country.
Labour MP David Taylor also called for Piker to be banned from the UK.
The UK Government has not commented on the direct reasoning for the revocation, but it was deemed the pair’s appearance in the country would not be “conducive to public good”.
Asked for his initial reaction, Piker said: “I was a little bit worried initially when I saw reporting from The Times of Israel and numerous other publications about how certain Israel sympathetic advocacy organisations were demanding that I be barred entry into the country, but I genuinely didn’t think the Labour government would go that far.
“Especially considering I had freely travelled to the United Kingdom under Tory administrations and also under the Starmer government as well, but I was a little bit worried regardless because I had also seen the repression against those who declare any support for Palestine Action, and my friends in Kneecap had also faced some legal scrutiny, some legal troubles as well.
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“And the groups that are at the heart of all of these controversies were always pro-Israel advocacy organisations so it does feel to me like a lot of these advocacy organisations have a tremendous amount of influence over the Government’s state enforced repression against any kind of statement against Israel’s genocide or the culpability of the British Government in Israel’s genocide against Palestinians and its bombing campaigns in Lebanon and Syria elsewhere.”
Piker and Uygur will still be platformed at the Oxford Union, the university’s president has confirmed, addressing students over livestream.
You can listen to the full podcast interview on our YouTube channel, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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