A Polish Member of the European Parliament has had his UK travel authorisation revoked by the Home Office, becoming one of at least seven foreign speakers barred from attending a right-wing rally in London later this week.
Dominik Tarczyński, an MEP for Poland’s Law and Justice party, was informed on Monday that his Electronic Travel Authorisation had been cancelled ahead of the so-called “Unite the Kingdom” event, organised by Tommy Robinson and scheduled for 16 May in London. The official communication from the Home Office stated that his presence in the United Kingdom “is not considered to be conducive to the public good” and confirmed there is no right of appeal.
Tarczyński, who has previously spoken at a similar Unite the Kingdom event in London in September 2025 without incident, condemned the decision in stark terms. “This is communism in the 21st century,” he said, adding that he intends to sue Prime Minister Keir Starmer personally after the next general election.
The ban is not an isolated measure. At least six other foreign nationals invited to address the same rally have had their ETAs cancelled or been refused entry on identical grounds. Those reported to have been affected include Belgian politician Filip Dewinter of the Vlaams Belang party, American journalist Don Keith, US political commentator Joey Mannarino, and anti-Islam influencer Valentina Gomez, who had reportedly been blocked from entering the UK on a previous occasion. At least two further unnamed right-wing influencers are said to have been refused entry, bringing the total to seven or more. Several of those affected are reported to have no criminal record in the United Kingdom and had previously visited the country without difficulty.
Prime Minister Starmer publicly endorsed the action on Monday. “This Labour Government will block far-right agitators from travelling to Britain for that event, because we will not allow people to come to the UK and spread hate on our streets,” he said. He described the rally as “designed to intimidate” and said the government would not permit outsiders to “threaten our communities.”
The bans have been authorised under Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood. The “not conducive to the public good” provision used to justify them is a long-standing power that successive governments, both Conservative and Labour, have employed against individuals deemed to pose a risk to public order or to promote extremism.
Critics of the current decisions argue the power is being applied to silence elected politicians and commentators who have spoken out against mass migration. Tarczyński himself has been a vocal advocate of Poland’s approach to border control and has publicly called for the deportation of illegal entrants. Supporters of the government’s position maintain the measures are necessary to prevent far-right agitation ahead of what is expected to be a heavily policed event.
Despite the entry bans, the rally is still due to proceed on Friday. Tarczyński and others who have been refused entry have indicated they plan to address the crowd via video link.
