Speaking to Radio 4\u2019s Today programme on Friday, he speculated that the only plausible rationale for the ban was his advertised appearance at a conference<\/a> next Wednesday alongside Huda Ammori, a co-founder of the proscribed group Palestine Action.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cI cannot see any other explanation than the scheduled appearance of me on stage for a panel on Wednesday evening in London, together with Huda Ammori. That \u2026 makes me somehow a terrorist or associated with terrorism, and therefore barred from travelling to the UK. That\u2019s pretty scandalous.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cWhat I am going through here is just a very small part of a major trend: this drift into authoritarianism that is targeting the Palestine movement, the climate movement, and others who oppose the destructive forces that are in control of this world. And that\u2019s a very sad thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Malm confirmed to the Guardian that he would speak via video link at the event organised by Tribune magazine.<\/p>\n In his BBC interview, he denied supporting or helping to finance Palestine Action<\/a>. But Malm, who has long campaigned for Palestinian rights, added: \u201cYou might be able to guess my opinions and sympathies.\u201d<\/p>\n The Home Office<\/a> said it could not discuss individual cases. However, a source said: \u201cDecisions to refuse or cancel an ETA on the grounds that presence in the UK may not be conducive to public good are based solely on an assessment of the potential risk an individual may pose to UK society.\u201d<\/p>\n Malm said: \u201cI don\u2019t have any concrete evidence for what this is all about. I\u2019m left in the dark. I have asked for clarification, explanation. I haven\u2019t received any.\u201d<\/p>\n Malm was challenged on Today over whether his description of the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 as an \u201cact of liberation\u201d could be the reason for the ban.<\/p>\n He replied: \u201cIt could be. But my views about what happened on 7 October and in Palestine have been in the public realm for a long time. I was most recently in the UK in May.\u201d<\/p>\n Malm added: \u201cI\u2019ve done nothing in public that is associated with Palestine Action. I have not publicly supported them or promoted them in any way.\u201d<\/p>\n Malm said he was invited to speak alongside Ammori to discuss the war in Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, what they\u2019re preventing here is for us to have a discussion about the drivers of the imperial aggression in the Middle East,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only link to Palestine Action is her [Ammori] as a person. If you continue with these guilt-by-association links, then presumably if I am a threat to the public good in the UK by dint of talking to her, then someone who talks to me presumably is also a threat to the public good. Where does that end?\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter |Every weekday<\/p>\n Sign up to First Edition<\/p>\n Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n The travel ban has been widely criticised. The author Sally Rooney said it was a \u201csad and frightening act of cultural self-harm\u201d.<\/p>\n In a post on X, <\/a>the Green party leader, Zack Polanski, said: \u201cThis all feels very much Starmer\u2019s Labour government 2.0. An extraordinary attack on free speech from Andy Burnham.\u201d<\/p>\n The Labour MP Clive Lewis, who last year offered to stand down from his Norwich South seat<\/a> to allow Andy Burnham the chance to return to parliament, said: \u201cWhen any government starts barring academics for their political views, alarm bells should be ringing.<\/p>\n \u201cIf ministers have evidence Andreas Malm is dangerous, produce it. Otherwise, this looks like political censorship dressed up as public safety. That\u2019s a dangerous road for any democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n Ammori said in a post on X<\/a>: \u201cBanning academic and author Andreas Malm from entering Britain to stop him from speaking alongside myself, a Palestine Action co-founder, is another disgusting attack on free speech as a result of the draconian ban. The ban must be overturned.\u201d<\/p>\n Neal Lawson, the director of the thinktank Compass, tweeted<\/a>: \u201cThis makes me ashamed to be British and ashamed of an @UKLabour government that enacts illiberal attempts to stifle legitimate voices.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1793382612_136_1000.jpg\")
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