Renaud Camus, a French writer and philosopher known for his anti-immigration views, has been barred from entering the UK, British newspaper The Telegraph reported, noting that no official reason was provided for the ban.
Camus had planned to visit the UK later this month for a speaking engagement. He also said he was scheduled to participate in a future debate at the Oxford Union.
The author is planning to appeal the ban with help from the Free Speech Union, an organisation led by Lord Young, a Conservative peer in the House of Lords.
Lord Young said, “We’ve reached out to him to see if he’d like any help in appealing this decision, and he said yes. So I anticipate that we are going to be getting an immigration lawyer on the case.”
He also criticised the timing of the decision, calling it “tin-eared” given that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is trying to build ties with Donald Trump, whose administration raised concerns about freedom of expression in the UK.
Who is Renaud Camus?
Camus is a philosopher widely known for his Great Replacement theory. The theory claims that Europe’s native populations are being deliberately replaced by migrants.
Why was he banned?
While the Home Office has not detailed the reasons, it said Camus’s presence “was not considered to be conducive to the public good.”
The ban comes amid a heated debate over free speech in the UK, especially concerning immigration. Some believe that misinformation surrounding immigration played a role in fuelling the 2024 summer riots that followed the Southport murders.
