UK bans US political pundits Hasan Piker, Cenk Uygur: What we know
The two men had been due to address the SXSW London festival on June 4, with Piker scheduled to meet left-wing UK lawmakers and Uygur slated to address Oxford University students.
The United Kingdom’s Home Office has banned US political commentators Cenk Uygur and his nephew Hasan Piker from entering Britain to perform at an arts festival and meet left-wing leaders, which the pundits claim was due to anti-Israel rhetoric.
What happened: Uygur, 56, host of the online left-wing political talk show "The Young Turks," and Piker, 34, a prominent Twitch streamer, have been stopped from appearing at the SXSW London festival. Uygur said he had also been scheduled to speak at a student-organized event at Oxford University.
“I’ve been banned from the UK,” Uygur said on the X platform. “I tried to get on a flight to London to attend SXSW London and give a speech at Oxford. I’ve been banned for criticising Israel. Are we free any more? This is oppression of western citizens by our own governments on behalf of a different country.”
I’ve been banned from the UK. I tried to get on a flight to London to attend SXSW London and give a speech at Oxford. I’ve been banned for criticizing Israel. Are we free anymore? This is oppression of Western citizens by our own governments on behalf of a different country!
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) May 31, 2026
Responding to his post, Piker said, “The UK has revoked my visa as well. All at the behest of Israel. The west is betraying ‘liberal values’ for a genocidal fascist foreign government. Soon we will all become Israel.”
