Donald Trump: 10 people the UK has banned for hate speech
After his calls to ban Muslims from entering the United States, Donald Trump garnered condemnation from all sides of the political debate and around the world. A petition to ban Trump from the UK was set up and has already reached over 200,000 signatories – when 100,000 people sign a petition, the motion is considered for debate in Parliament.
Were the petition to succeed in its aim, Trump wouldn't be the first person barred entry to the UK for reasons of hate-speech. According to the Home Office, "The Home Secretary has the power to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good or if their exclusion is justified on public policy grounds." Though the Home Office does not comment on individual cases, they have at times published lists of those barred from the UK.
From American radio hosts to Islamic hate-preachers, here are 10 times the UK banned people for hate speech:
Michael Savage
Noted American 'shock-jock' and host of the radio show The Savage Nation, Michael Savage has been barred from entering the UK since at least 2009, when then-Home Secretary Jacqui Smith released the names of 16 people banned under her time in office. Savage had been banned for "seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence". Savage's banning garnered more attention after Savage claimed he would sue Smith for defamation.
Fred Phelps & Shirley Phelps-Roper
The Phelps family rose to infamy as founders and leaders of the Westboro Baptist Church, a small group in America known for protesting the funerals of US soldiers and homosexuals with heavily homophobic slogans. In 2009, the church was planning its first UK protest when the Home Office announced that Fred Phelps, the late leader of the Church, and his daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper, would not allowed into the UK for "fostering hatred".
Yunis Al Astal
Preacher and Hamas MP Yunis Al Astal is known for his inflamatory anti-semitic remarks. The Home Office said he had been banned as he was "considered to be engaging in unacceptable behaviour by seeking to foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs and to provoke others to terrorist acts."
Pamela Geller & Robert Spencer
In 2013, Home Secretary, Theresa May, barred Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer from entering the UK to speak at a rally organised by the English Defence League. Geller and Spencer were behind a campaign to stop the so-called Ground-Zero Mosque being built in New York and both were founders of the anti-Muslim group, Stop Islamization of America. The Home Office said their presence in the UK would "not be conducive to the public good".
Terry Jones
Florida pastor Terry Jones, who gained notoriety for his attempts to organise a Quran-burning protest, was banned from entering the UK in 2011 after he was invited to speak at a gathering of the right-wing group England Is Ours in Milton Keynes. The Home Office said that Jones had been banned as the government "opposes extremism in all its forms".
Geert Wilders
Right-wing anti-Islamic Dutch politician Geert Wilders was refused entry to the UK in 2009 after arriving at Heathrow airport in London on his way to show his film Fitna at the House of Lords. Wilders had received a letter from then-Home Secretary Jacqui Smith stating that his presence in the UK would "threaten community harmony and therefore public safety" and barring him from entry. Later in the year, this decision was overturned by an immigration tribunal and Wilders was allowed to enter the UK.
Artur Ryno & Pavel Skachevsky
Ryno and Skachevsky were leaders of a racist Russian skinhead gang that was convicted in 2008 of killing 19 immigrant workers. On the Home Office's 2009 banned list, they were described as "leaders of a violent gang that beat migrants and posted films of their attacks on the internet. Considered to be engaging in unacceptable behaviour by fomenting serious criminal activity and seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts."
Mike Guzovsky
American-Israeli militant Mike Guzovsky was a follower of the controversial right-wing Rabbi Meir Kahane. The UK government named Guzovsky as "leader of a violent group and actively involved with military training camps." Guzovsky is an ultra-Zionist, living in a settlement in the West Bank, he was banned from entering the UK as he is "considered to be engaging in unacceptable behaviour by seeking to foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs and to provoke others to terrorist acts."
Stephen Donald 'Don' Black
Don Black was member of a number of white supremacist groups in America, including being grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and setting up the website Stormfront, a well known white supremacist forum and thought to be the first major racist website ever set up. He was banned from entering the UK for "promoting serious criminal activity and fostering hatred, which might lead to inter-community violence".
Safwat Hegazi
Safwat Hegazi is an Egyptian television preacher, known for his calls for violence against Israeli Jews. After the military coup in Egypt that overthrew Mohammed Morsi, Hegazi was arrested and sentenced to 15 years for allegedly torturing a lawyer. The Home Office said that he was "considered to be engaging in unacceptable behaviour by glorifying terrorist violence".
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