The UK Home Office revoked Swedish academic Andreas Malm’s electronic travel authorisation, barring him from entering the country ahead of a scheduled public panel appearance alongside Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori.
The decision to block Malm, a senior lecturer in human ecology at Lund University in Sweden, triggered immediate international condemnation from academic institutions, authors, and political figures. The Home Office notified Malm that his presence in the United Kingdom was not considered to be conducive to the public good
, according to Al Jazeera.
UK Revokes Scholar Travel Authorization
Malm was scheduled to travel to London to participate in an academic conference, speak on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, and appear at an event organized by the magazine Tribune alongside Ammori. Palestine Action is a proscribed terrorist organization in the UK, a legal classification that placed the group alongside al-Qaeda and ISIL under British law, as reported by Al Jazeera and the BBC.
In an interview with the BBC, Malm stated that he could not see any other explanation
for the sudden cancellation of his Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) than his planned appearance alongside Ammori. He emphasized that he was not a member of Palestine Action, had never publicly endorsed the group, and had provided no financial support to it, calling the government’s action an imposition of guilt by association
and a severe restriction on the free exchange of ideas
.
A Home Office spokesperson defended the action to The Guardian, stating that cancelling or refusing an ETA can occur when there are concerns that an individual poses a threat to public safety or seeks to spread extremism, according to Theguardian. The spokesperson added that the decision did not constitute a ban on coming to the UK and that Malm could still apply for a visa.
Academics Protest Entry Ban Decision
More than 1,400 individuals from over 250 academic institutions signed an open letter organized by Fabian Dablander, an assistant professor at the London School of Economics, urging the government to reverse the entry bar, as detailed by The Guardian. The signatories warned that excluding scholars over their political views or scheduled discussion topics establishes a dangerous precedent for academic discourse.
Publishers and literary figures also weighed in on the decision. Tariq Ali, chair of the board of directors at Verso Books, released a statement condemning the measure as an act of political censorship, noted by Verso Books. Irish novelist Sally Rooney, whose own books were recently withdrawn from sale in the UK due to her public support for Palestine Action, described Malm as a brilliant and influential
intellectual and termed his exclusion a sad and frightening act of cultural self-harm
, according to Al Jazeera and Yahoo News UK.
Politicians joined the criticism. Jeremy Corbyn characterized the move as absurd and outrageous, asserting that the government sought to silence criticism of Israel and mask its own complicity in the conflict, as reported by Yahoo News UK and Tribune. Tribune editor Oliver Eagleton noted to Novara Media that it had become commonplace for authors and academics to be treated as terrorists because they support Palestinians.
Scholar Links Ban to Past Remarks
Malm acknowledged to the BBC that the Home Office’s decision might also be connected to his past public remarks regarding the October 7, 2023, attacks led by Hamas in Israel—in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage—which he had previously described during a December 2023 talk as fundamentally an act of liberation
while simultaneously condemning the killing of civilians.
UK revokes travel authorization for Swedish academic ahead of London pro-Palestine panel —— The British Home Office revoked the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) of prominent Swedish academic and author Andreas Malm, barring him from entering the UK just days before a… pic.twitter.com/E6VI7HeOlx
Legal challenges regarding the proscription of Palestine Action under counter-terrorism legislation were scheduled before the UK Supreme Court during the same week as Malm’s barred appearance, as noted by The Independent and Novara Media. Commentators observed that Malm’s exclusion mirrors actions taken earlier in the year against left-wing US media commentators Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur, who were similarly denied entry by British authorities under the rationale that their presence would not be conducive to the public good, according to Yahoo News UK and Tribune.
More on Andreas Malm
Swedish academic Andreas Malm has been denied entry to the UK over his plans to appear on a panel alongside Palestine Action cofounder Huda Ammori because the gov't says his “presence in the UK is not considered to be conducive to the public good”. 🔗: https://t.co/nry2Jcv65E pic.twitter.com/ZYkk64wX33
Swedish climate academic Andreas Malm says he has been denied entry to the UK after receiving a message from the Home Office stating that his presence would not be conducive to the public good. pic.twitter.com/VVlhkJxIWn
The UK Home Office revoked Swedish academic Andreas Malm’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), stating that his presence in the UK was “not conducive to the public good”, just one week before his scheduled participation in a pro-Palestine event in London organised by Tribune… pic.twitter.com/PL1u7zd4CN