Britain bars entry to Swedish academic ahead of appearance with Palestine Action founder

By Yoruk Bahceli LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Swedish climate academic Andreas Malm said on Friday he had been denied entry to Britain, where he was due to speak alongside the co-founder of Palestine Action, a group banned as a terrorist organisation. Malm, an academic at Sweden's Lund University, has been a vocal critic of Israel and expressed strong support for the Palestinian movement. Britain's Home Office (interior ministry) said it did not comment on individual cases.

Malm told the BBC's Radio 4 he had received a message from the Home Office saying his "presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good" with no further clarification. He said he suspected he was barred because he had been due to appear at an event next Wednesday organised by a socialist magazine alongside Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori, where he said he had been due to speak about the war in Iran. He added he had not publicly endorsed, promoted or financially supported Palestine Action.

"I've been going back and forth to the UK for years, for decades, to do my scientific work, my archival research, my participation in conferences. This is the main purpose of my visit to the UK this time too," Malm said. "What this means is that I am banned from doing my work as an intellectual, as an academic." Asked by the BBC whether the ban could be linked to previous comments he made calling Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel "an act of liberation", Malm said "it could be".

Malm is most known for his book "How to Blow Up a Pipeline", which argues radical action is necessary to stop fossil fuel extraction. Britain's Supreme Court is due to hear an appeal next week on the proscription of Palestine Action under terrorism laws, which has made expressing support for the group a criminal offence. Earlier in October, Irish novelist Sally Rooney said her books will no longer be sold in Britain over her plans to use her royalties to support Palestine Action.

In June, Britain blocked left-wing Turkish-American media personality Cenk Uygur and his nephew Hasan Piker from entering the country to speak at events. Britain has also imposed travel bans on far-right Israeli ministers and banned Israelis from attending a prestigious London defence studies college. (Reporting by Yoruk Bahceli; editing by William James and William Maclean)