UK Reverses Travel Authorization for Swedish Academic Ahead of London Panel

The UK government has effectively barred Swedish climate academic Andreas Malm from entering the country, a decision that has drawn sharp criticism from across the political spectrum. Malm, who was scheduled to speak at a conference in London next Wednesday, confirmed on Friday that his electronic travel authorisation (ETA) had been revoked. He will now address the audience via video link.

Malm stated that UK immigration authorities provided only a standard explanation for the revocation. He was informed that his presence in the UK was not considered conducive to the public good. The academic said he was kept in the dark regarding the specific reasons for the ban. He noted that he had requested clarification and an explanation from the authorities but had received no response.

In an interview on Radio 4’s Today programme, Malm speculated that the ban was linked to his scheduled appearance alongside Huda Ammori. Ammori is a co-founder of Palestine Action, a group that has been proscribed by the UK government. Malm argued that sharing a stage with Ammori implied an association with terrorism. He described the logic as scandalous, suggesting that the government was using the ban to silence a discussion on the drivers of imperial aggression in the Middle East.

Malm denied that he personally supported or financed Palestine Action. He acknowledged his long-standing campaign for Palestinian rights but maintained that he had not publicly promoted the group. He challenged the concept of guilt by association, asking where the line would be drawn if speaking with a proscribed group member made an individual a threat to the public good. He also addressed his previous description of the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 as an act of liberation, noting that these views had been public for years and that he had visited the UK most recently in May.

The Home Office declined to discuss the individual case but provided general context through a source. The source stated that decisions to cancel an ETA on public good grounds are based solely on an assessment of the potential risk an individual may pose to UK society. The department did not release specific details about the risk assessment for Malm.

Critics have framed the move as a step toward authoritarianism. Malm described the situation as a small part of a major trend targeting the Palestine movement and the climate movement. He characterized the trend as a drift into authoritarianism aimed at those who oppose what he called the destructive forces in control of the world. The author Sally Rooney called the ban a sad and frightening act of cultural self-harm.

Political figures have also weighed in on the decision. Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green party, posted on X that the move felt like an extraordinary attack on free speech from Andy Burnham. Clive Lewis, a Labour MP, warned that barring academics for their political views should ring alarm bells. He argued that if ministers have evidence Malm is dangerous, they should produce it, otherwise the ban looks like political censorship dressed up as public safety.

Huda Ammori responded to the ban on social media, calling it a disgusting attack on free speech resulting from the draconian ban on Palestine Action. She stated that the ban must be overturned. Neal Lawson, director of the thinktank Compass, tweeted that the move made him ashamed of the UK Labour government’s illiberal attempts to stifle legitimate voices.

John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, wrote that the government was effectively censoring someone who wanted to come to discuss censorship. He said that Home Office policy-making had degenerated into dangerous farce. Malm’s book How to Blow Up a Pipeline, which inspired a film of the same name, argues that sabotage and destroying property are morally and strategically justified forms of activism.