Labour Muslim Network calls out government banning Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur

On 1 June, the UK banned two prominent American leftists from entering the UK. The men in question were Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur, who are both Turkish Muslims. In response to this, the Labour Muslim Network has now spoken out.

Labour Muslim Network alarmed

The response from the network reads:

The Home Office’s decision to cancel the visas of Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker, preventing them from speaking at events in the UK, is alarming.

Given the significant public interest surrounding this case, the Government should provide a clear explanation of the basis on which this decision was made and the factors that led to the cancellation of their travel permissions.

Support for Palestinian rights, criticism of the actions of the Israeli government, and advocacy for international law and human rights must never be grounds for exclusion from public debate in the United Kingdom.

Muslim communities, and all those who speak out on matters of human rights and international justice, must have confidence that decisions of this nature are applied fairly, consistently and transparently.

Piker and Uygur have both attributed the ban to their criticism of Israel:

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. https://t.co/UqQG1dogOI

— hasanabi (@hasanthehun) May 31, 2026

Featured image via Kris Connor (Getty Images)