‘Weak and cowardly’: UK bars renowned Swedish author ahead of Palestine event
The UK has barred Swedish author and climate activist Andreas Malm from entering the country ahead of a pro-Palestine event in London, marking the latest move in Labour’s crackdown on speakers critical of British support for Israel.
Immigration officials turned Malm away, telling him his presence “may not be considered to be conducive to the public good”. They provided no further evidence or explanation.
Malm described the decision by Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government as “scandalous”.
The Lund University associate professor of human ecology was due to speak next week at an event titled “Washington’s global reign of terror and Britain’s role in reinforcing it”.
He would have appeared alongside Huda Ammori, a co-founder of Palestine Action, which the British government has proscribed over its anti-genocide activism.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
“I am deeply dismayed at this sudden ban on travelling to the UK. I have been going to the UK for decades – this is where I did my archival research for my PhD dissertation and lectured at dozens of universities and participated in even more conferences,” Malm said in a statement.
“One was under the impression that the Burnham government had slightly more respect for the basic notions of freedom of expression and other democratic rights. I appeal for this decision to be overturned,” he added.
Verso Books, which published several of Malm’s books in Britain, condemned the ban.
'Andy Burnham's government continues the authoritarian overreach we saw under Starmer'
- Oliver Eagleton, Tribune editor
In a statement, the publisher said: “We are shocked and disturbed by the Labour government’s decision to ban one of our leading authors”, adding “never in over 55 years of publishing has a British government revoked the right of one of our authors to enter the country”.
“Only a weak and cowardly government seeks to curb dissent in this fashion,” Verso Books added.
Tribune, the left-wing publication hosting the event, had planned a discussion covering freedom of speech, the banning of Palestine Action and the effective ban on Sally Rooney’s books over her support for the group.
Its editor, Oliver Eagleton, described the government’s censorship of a speaker at an event about censorship as “deeply disturbing”.
“In this new dystopian Britain, it is now commonplace for authors and academics to be treated as terrorists because they support Palestinians facing genocide and the rights of people protesting that genocide,” Eagleton said.
Burnham has sought to distance himself from his predecessor, former prime minister Keir Starmer, who resigned in July. At the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza in 2023, Starmer said Israel had the “right” to cut off power, food and water to ordinary Palestinians, and his government refused to back a ceasefire call for almost five months, during which time tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed by Israel.
His government continued selling arms to Israel as evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity mounted. His support for Israel helped undermine his premiership and contributed to his downfall.
In July, Burnham said that “Labour’s initial response to the treatment of Gaza caused huge hurt. We got it wrong and I am sorry for that.”
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband described Israeli actions in the occupied West Bank as ethnic cleansing in September. Asked in an October interview whether Starmer’s government had got Gaza wrong, he said: “We were too reticent to call out what the Israeli government was doing and too cautious.”
Yet Malm’s exclusion follows the Starmer government’s ban on other pro-Palestine speakers, including Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur earlier this year.
“It is deeply disturbing that he [Malm] is seemingly being censored for speaking out about censorship, as Andy Burnham's government continues the authoritarian overreach we saw under Starmer,” Eagleton said.
Labour leaders, including Burnham, have refused to accept Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, despite the consensus verdicts of the UN, genocide expert and international human rights groups.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
