UK blocks entry of controversial US commentators Cenk Uygur, Hasan Piker

Britain has blocked Cenk Uygur, a left-wing Turkish-American media personality, and his nephew, Hasan Piker, a US left-wing commentator and influencer, from entering the country to speak at events, both said on Monday.

Uygur, who co-hosts the popular YouTube channel “The Young Turks,” and Piker said they had been barred because of their views on Israel.

Britain’s interior ministry said travel authorization for “these individuals” had been canceled as “their presence in the UK may not be conducive to the public good,” in a statement that did not mention Israel.

Piker has compared Zionists to Nazis and called Orthodox Jews “inbred.” According to a report from the Times newspaper, the decision to ban Uygur was believed to be based on concerns that he would aggravate antisemitism. The newspaper noted that he has in the past repeated “classic antisemitic tropes,” including claiming that Israel controls America, and accused Israel of genocide.

They had been listed to speak at the SXSW London festival later this week, and at the University of Oxford this weekend.

“I’ve been banned for criticizing Israel. Are we free anymore?” Uygur posted, after he said he tried to board a flight.

Piker said: “The UK has revoked my visa as well. All at the behest of Israel.”

Piker had been due to speak at SXSW about “How the American Left Learned to Speak the Internet.” Uygur’s session was titled: “Techno-Feudalism is Here. Who Are the Lords?”

There was no mention of Israel in their sections on the website for SXSW London, which describes itself as a festival of “business, technology and creativity.”

Earlier this month, UK Jewish groups demanded that Britain deny entry to Piker.

The UK’s Jewish Leadership Council said inviting Piker amid recent terror attacks on British Jews was “dangerous” given the streamer’s sympathy for terror groups Hezbollah and Hamas and his denial of atrocities committed by Hamas in the onslaught of October 7, 2023.

According to the Times report, the decision to ban his uncle Uygur was also believed to be based on remarks he made to Piers Morgan on his YouTube channel, in which he dismissed evidence of grooming gangs as “Islamophobic” and over misogynistic comments he has made in the past, including describing women as “poorly designed creatures who do not want to have sex nearly as often as needed for the human race to get along peaceably and fruitfully.”

David Taylor, a Labour 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.”

Thank you Home Secretary for revoking Hasan Piker's visa.

There's no reason to open our doors to those who seek to spread hate and division, especially to those who've supported a proscribed terror group.

SXSW London must review it's vetting policies so it doesn't happen again. https://t.co/nOJjWADChK

— David Taylor MP (@DavidTaylor85) June 1, 2026

Over the last year, US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have raised concerns about what they say are infringements on free speech in Britain.

In May, the British government barred from entering the country 11 people whom it described as “foreign far-right agitators.” They had been due to speak at an event organized by anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson.

In April, the UK 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.

Uygur, 56, attracts more than 200 million views a month through “The Young Turks,” according to the website for the SXSW London.

He was briefly a Democratic nominee in the 2024 US presidential election.

His 34-year-old nephew has a daily audience of 30,000 people on the live-streaming platform Twitch, according to the SXSW website.