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Streamer Hasan Piker banned from entering UK over controversial remarks
01st June, 2026 09:02 PM
British authorities have blocked Hasan Piker, an American online streamer, and another political commentator from entering the U.K. to speak at public events.
Piker, an online commentator who is frequently critical of U.S. President Donald Trump, Israel and the war in Gaza, has 2.8 million followers on Twitch.
The Home Office said that the electronic travel authorisation, or ETA, for Piker and Cenk Uygur, who hosts the “Young Turks” online talk show and is reportedly Piker’s uncle, were canceled “because their presence in the U.K. may not be conducive to the public good.”
“Decisions to refuse or cancel an ETA on these grounds are based solely on an assessment of the potential risk an individual may pose to U.K. society,” the Home Office said.
Piker and Uygur were due to speak at SXSW London, a culture, technology and creativity festival, this month. Uygur was also expected to give a speech at the Oxford Union, the prestigious student debating society.
“A sad state of affairs where obviously the interests of Israel take the highest priority,” Piker said on his YouTube channel.
Uygur said on X that he had been banned “for criticising Israel. Are we free any more?”
Piker has faced criticism over some of his comments on the Hamas militant group, which is considered a terrorist organisation in the U.K. and the U.S., among other countries.
In April, he told an episode of the “Pod Save America” podcast that “I’m a harm-reduction voter, I’m a lesser evil voter, and therefore I would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time.”
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.”
In April, the U.K. 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.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at the time that his government “stands firmly with the Jewish community, and we will not stop in our fight to confront and defeat the poison of antisemitism.”
