Politics1 min read

Academic says he has been barred from UK over event with Palestine Action founder

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

British officials excluded Swedish academic Andreas Malm from entering the country ahead of a scheduled Tribune magazine event in London alongside Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori. Malm denied ever joining, funding, or endorsing the activist group, noting he had been allowed into the UK earlier in May. Meanwhile, thousands of related domestic prosecutions remain stalled as the UK Supreme Court weighs a legal challenge to Palestine Action's terrorist designation.

Key points

  • British authorities maintain expansive legal discretion to block foreign nationals deemed…: British authorities maintain expansive legal discretion to block foreign nationals deemed detrimental to the public good.
  • Andreas Malm denied any formal membership, endorsement, or financial backing of Palestine…: Andreas Malm denied any formal membership, endorsement, or financial backing of Palestine Action despite his scheduled appearance with its co-founder.
  • Ongoing trials tied to Palestine Action are temporarily paused while the judiciary review…: Ongoing trials tied to Palestine Action are temporarily paused while the judiciary reviews the legality of the group's ban.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

- Published

A Swedish climate academic says he has been barred from entering the UK because he was due to speak on a panel with a co-founder of Palestine Action.

Andreas Malm told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he had received a letter from the Home Office notifying him that his presence was "not conducive to the public good", with no further details given.

He said he could not "see any other explanation" for being denied entry than his scheduled appearance with Huda Ammori, a founder of the group, which is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK.

The Home Office said it did not comment on individual cases.

Malm is a senior lecturer in human ecology at Sweden's Lund University, whose work includes the 2021 book How to Blow up a Pipeline and 2025's The Destruction of Palestine is the Destruction of the Earth.

He said he had asked the Home Office to explain its decision, but could not see a reason beyond the upcoming talk in London with Ammori organised by the left-wing magazine Tribune - calling…

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