The United Kingdom’s interior ministry is prohibiting two progressive commentators, Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur, from visiting the country to participate in an ideas festival. This is abject censorship and ought to be condemned as such.
Uygur is a cohost of The Young Turks, a popular news program on YouTube. Piker, who made a name for himself as a Twitch streamer, is Uygur’s nephew. Both are relentless critics of the state of Israel. Piker often goes much further than Uygur, and has repeatedly made gross and inflammatory statements, including that America “deserved 9/11″ and offering praise for repressive communist regimes.
These are not good reasons to deny him entry to the U.K., however. In a statement, the government confirmed that it had rescinded the pair’s travel visas because “their presence in the U.K. may not be conducive to the public good”—an Orwellian-sounding statement if ever there was one.
It is true that the U.K. lacks a First Amendment, and as such, is under no special obligation to protect free expression within the country. Moreover, governments can and do place restrictions on who can visit. Kanye West, for example, has also been denied entry to perform in the U.K. due to his history of anti-Semitism.
But that doesn’t mean it is right or just to ban them. On the contrary, it is a disturbing new low for an ostensibly free and liberal Western democracy to decide that political commentators should not be allowed to speak within the country.
And make no mistake: The only reason for this ban is to prevent a pair of notable critics of the state of Israel from voicing their opinions. The interior ministry cited concern for “the public good,” yet there is no reason to think that either Piker or Uygur will have any impact on the public except via their speech. They do not participate in violence, and they do not have throngs of supporters who will engage in violence. What possible harm could they cause? Note as well that the government only mentions a potential fear: Their presence might not be conducive to the public good. This is as sinister as it is vague, and represents a profound challenge to the idea that Britain’s current Labour Government understands the value of free speech at all.
Piker has blamed the Israeli government and suggested that British authorities faced pressure to act. It’s not clear whether that was the case; if so, it was a foolish thing for Israel to do. It makes the pro-Jewish cause seem as if its adherents are afraid of open debate on this topic. Silencing the opposition is a surefire way to draw more attention toward, and sympathy for, the causes that Piker and Uygur represent.
Don’t just take it from me—take it from Shabbos Kestenbaum, a conservative commentator for PragerU and defender of Israel. I recently appeared on a debate panel with Kestenbaum and Ana Kasparian, a fierce Israel critic and Uygur’s cohost on The Young Turks. I had a front row seat to the spirited, and at times vicious, debate on this topic between the two. Undoubtedly, Kestenbaum would be no less vigorous when going toe to toe with Uygur.
During his visit to the U.K., Uygur had intended to participate in a debate with Kestenbaum, moderated by Piers Morgan. Now that the event will not occur as intended, Kestenbaum is outraged.
“This ban is completely unfounded and must be reversed,” wrote Kestenbaum on X. “Free speech must always be protected and allowed. Shame on [Prime Minister] Keir Starmer.”
I was meant to be on Piers Morgan debating Cenk Uygur this Monday in London.
We just got word Cenk has been banned from the UK.
This ban is completely unfounded and must be reversed.
Free speech must always be protected and allowed.
Shame on Keir Starmer.
— Shabbos Kestenbaum (@ShabbosK) May 31, 2026
Unfortunately, this is just the latest manifestation of the U.K.’s growing climate of speech suppression, something that has not gone without notice here in the U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance famously upbraided Starmer over his government’s vigorous prosecution of hate speech offenses, which have resulted in fines and even jail time for dissenters.
