Several free speech organisations have warned that the policy amounts to rising authoritarianism [Andrew Aitchison / In pictures via Getty Images]
The UK government’s decision to revoke the visas of political commentators Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur has sparked a backlash from free speech advocates, rights groups and event organisers, who say the move raises serious concerns about freedom of expression and government overreach.
Many have questioned the Home Office’s decision to bar the two commentators from entering the country on the grounds that their presence was “not conducive to the public good”, warning that such powers are increasingly being used to restrict lawful political speech.
Arwa Elrayess, president of the Oxford Union, which was due to host Piker and Uygur in person on Saturday, said the student debating society was “deeply concerned” by the decision.
“This eleventh-hour call signals much more than democratic decline. It is a direct threat to free expression,” she said. “This event will not be cancelled. The Union will ensure this discussion takes place. Free speech does not require a visa.”
Free speech organisations also criticised the move, arguing that it reflected a broader trend of restricting debate under the guise of immigration powers.
Index on Censorship said the Home Office’s use of the “not conducive to the public good” provision was becoming increasingly common.
The organisation warned that the policy was “illiberal and risks eroding the principles of free expression [and] open debate that underpin a democratic society”.
Akiko Hart, director of Liberty, told The Guardian that decisions to exclude individuals from the country should be transparent and subject to legal scrutiny, particularly given a series of recent cases involving entry bans on political grounds.
“Free speech can only exist when we defend it for those we disagree with, as uncomfortable as it may feel,” she said.
The controversy has fuelled a wider debate about the state of free expression in Britain.
Journalist Lewis Goodall described the decision as “counter-productive, authoritarian and chilling”, while commentator Zoe Gardner said free speech was “increasingly being challenged by the growing brand of stupid authoritarianism”.
The Home Office has increasingly used immigration powers to bar controversial figures from entering the country.
Since denying entry to Kanye West in April, the government has also blocked several hard-right and far-right activists, including anti-Islam campaigner Valentina Gomez and others who had been expected to attend Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom march.
The visa revocations have also triggered a backlash against the SXSW festival in London, where both Piker and Uygur had been scheduled to appear.
Several speakers have withdrawn from the event after organisers declined to publicly challenge the government’s decision.
In a statement to Variety, SXSW said the pair would no longer participate in the festival following the visa revocations, adding that “decisions on entry to the UK are a matter for the Home Office and the individuals concerned”.
Piker responded angrily on X, accusing organisers of failing to defend him and Uygur.
Novara Media contributing editor Ash Sarkar, who had been due to appear alongside Piker, announced she was withdrawing from the festival.
In an email to organisers that she later posted online, Sarkar wrote: “If I were in their shoes, I would hope that any organisation which invited me to speak, and had their programming interfered with by the Home Office, would have the minimal expected integrity to offer some defence of lawful free expression and condemn government overreach.”
Zara Rahim, a communications strategist and senior adviser to New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, also pulled out of the event.
Rahim said she no longer felt comfortable participating and criticised what she viewed as SXSW’s failure to robustly defend free speech.
“There’s an obvious irony in hosting a conference about the future of media, democracy, dissent, and political power while responding so cautiously to the banning of one of the most influential political commentators from even entering the country,” she wrote.
