Why the UK banned Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur
The Global Story
BBC
3.8 • 667 Ratings
🗓️ 3 June 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On Sunday, two prominent left-wing political commentators in the US — Hasan Piker and his uncle, Cenk Uygur – said they had been barred from visiting the UK.
Both men were due to appear at the SXSW London festival, but say the British government blocked them from entering the country because of their criticism of Israel. The British government confirmed that it had denied them entry on the grounds that their presence in the UK “may not be conducive to the public good” but did not elaborate further. Their cases have sparked renewed debate about the limits of free speech in the UK.
We speak to American political activist Shabbos Kestenbaum – who was due to debate Cenk Uygur in London – and to the legal academic and host of the BBC’s The Law Show, Joelle Grogan.
Producers: Sam Chantarasak, Lucy Pawle and Aron Keller
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Hasan Piker speaks to members of the media at the venue for New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani's election night rally in Brooklyn, New York, November 4, 2025. Credit: Jeenah Moon/Reuters
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | On Sunday Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.0 | On Sunday, the American left-wing commentator, Jen Guger, was at the airport in L.A., about to travel to the UK, when he says this happened. |
| 0:15.0 | I was going to get on a flight to go to London, and they said, I'm sorry, sir, there's a problem. |
| 0:20.0 | I said, what's the problem? |
| 0:21.5 | They said, you ban from the United Kingdom. As it turned out, the same had happened to his nephew, |
| 0:26.7 | one of the most prominent left-wing internet personalities, Hassan Piker. |
| 0:31.5 | My visa has also been revoked. We just found out, as it stands currently, I don't believe that I'll be able to go to the United Kingdom this upcoming week. |
| 0:42.3 | Both men say the British government blocked them from entering the country because of their criticism of Israel. |
| 0:50.9 | On Monday, the British government confirmed that it had denied entry to Ugar and Piker |
| 0:55.6 | on the grounds that their presence in the UK may not be conducive to the public good. |
| 1:02.0 | There was no mention of Israel in their statement. |
| 1:05.1 | But the news of these bans has sparked fresh conversations about the limits of free speech in the UK. |
| 1:11.1 | If you're coming into our country from abroad with that kind of intention, you have no right |
| 1:16.7 | to be here. |
| 1:17.6 | This is just the latest example of what is the largest assault on free speech since the 1950s. |
| 1:25.4 | So I think what the Home Secretary has done is good in a way as long as it's done for genuine |
| 1:33.2 | reasons. |
| 1:34.0 | The reasons apparently the British government used, I just find completely ridiculous and shameful. |
| 1:40.9 | From the BBC, I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. |
| 1:44.9 | And today on the global story, does Britain have a free speech problem? |
| 1:56.6 | Now, on today's show, we're talking about where a government draws the line in deciding |
| 2:02.0 | what speech is acceptable. So, as you can imagine, this episode does contain language and |
... |
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