UK-US politics in ‘utter devastation’, says Hasan Piker after visa cancelled days before London appearance

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The Twitch streamer and political commentator had been due to speak at SXSW London and at an event in Oxford.

But Mr Piker and fellow US commentator Cenk Uygur, co-founder of left-wing populist YouTube show The Young Turks, said their UK travel permissions had been revoked before they were due to fly.

It is understood that both men had their Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs) cancelled.

Reuters reported the pair had been blocked from entering the country, while other reports said an ETA can be cancelled if authorities assess that a person’s presence may not be “conducive to the public good”.

Mr Piker has claimed the move was politically motivated, saying on social media that the UK had revoked his visa “at the behest of Israel”, while Mr Uygur said he had been “banned for criticising Israel”.

Speaking to Lewis Goodall on Sunday, Mr Piker said the UK and US were facing a shared political crisis, pointing to what he described as a growing international alliance on the right.

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Asked where British politics now stands, particularly in relation to the US, Mr Piker replied: “Utter devastation.”

He said he had warned on election night that if Sir Keir Starmer’s government continued “down the line of austerity” and failed to address the economic pressure facing voters, it would cede more ground to the right.

Mr Piker said: “I was worried that far-right elements were going to overtake British politics, and they certainly did.”

He argued that some former Labour strongholds had already become vulnerable first to the Conservatives and then to Reform UK, adding that the recent surge in support for the Green Party had been “the last saving grace of British politics to a certain degree”.

The political streamer added he believes British right-wing politics is now increasingly tied to a broader international movement rooted in the US.

He said: “There is an international component amongst far-right elements in European society.”

He continued: “There is this amalgamation of right wing forces that are not necessarily adjusted to their own local considerations and their own local problems, but instead they get their notes from MAGA and they wear MAGA merch.

“I find that both fascinating and also terrifying at the same time.”

He told LBC that what he sees emerging is bigger than any one party or country, saying: “There is no more coalition, or rather the coalition of forces that are taking shape right now are some of the most dangerous and most odious types of politics that I’ve ever experienced in my lifetime.”

He continued: “You have the MAGA movement, which by my estimation is almost turning into this behemoth of an international fascist movement, really.”

And he warned of what he described as a growing “weird allegiance” between American and British right-wing movements, saying: “We’re becoming more toxic against one another and the age of international rule-based order is seemingly being cast aside.”

The visa row has already drawn political reaction in Westminster.

Labour MP David Taylor, who had publicly called for Mr Piker to be barred from entering the UK, welcomed the decision and said there was no reason to allow entry to those he accused of spreading “hate and division”.

Piker was due to speak at SXSW London, a six-day event in Shoreditch focused on business, technology, music, film and culture.