London, United Kingdom – A pro-Palestine academic who was planning to travel to the United Kingdom has been denied entry because the government says his “presence in the UK is not considered to be conducive to the public good”. The UK Home Office cancelled Swedish national Andreas Malm’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) on Wednesday, an email seen by Al Jazeera shows. The decision came a week before Malm was due to appear on a panel organised by the British socialist magazine Tribune in London.
Huda Ammori, cofounder of Palestine Action – which the UK has proscribed as a “terrorist” group – is also due to appear on the panel, which will be chaired by Hala Hanina of Palestine Deep Dive. Malm told Al Jazeera that he believes his ETA was cancelled because he was due to appear on the panel. He has contacted the Home Office for an explanation but is yet to receive a response.
My position on Palestine has always been public,” Malm said, adding that his latest visit to the country was in May. The only thing that could have caused this [latest UK decision] is that I was due to be on a panel on Wednesday evening, where I would talk to Huda Ammori of Palestine Action,” he said. Malm told Al Jazeera that he used an ETA to visit the UK in May, which allowed him to travel to the country again later in the year without seeking reauthorisation.
He said he had received no indication from the Home Office that his ETA was at risk of being cancelled before receiving an email on Wednesday confirming that it had been revoked. In its email, the Home Office told Malm that if he wishes to visit the UK, he needs to apply for a visa, after which the office will “consider your circumstances in more detail” before making a decision. However, the government website states that the processing time for a standard visitor visa is three weeks, meaning Malm would not receive it in time for next week’s panel even if his application were approved.
Travellers from countries whose nationals do not require a visa to visit the UK generally need an ETA. These include countries in Europe, the United States and Canada, among others. Al Jazeera contacted the Home Office to ask for clarification on the cancellation of Malm’s ETA and whether it was connected to the event he planned to attend next week.
They had not replied at the time of publication. The cancellation of Malm’s ETA comes amid a wider crackdown on pro-Palestine activists by the UK government, something that began under then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, was prime minister when the government proscribed Palestine Action last year.
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