UK Bars Academic Over Event With Palestine Action Founder
WHO:
BBC - Swedish academic Andreas Malm said he had been barred from the UK after planning to attend an event with a co-founder of Palestine Action.
BBC News - Malm was due to appear on a panel alongside a co-founder of Palestine Action, which is proscribed in the UK.
Al Jazeera - Malm is a climate activist, author and lecturer at Lund University in Sweden.
Al Jazeera - The panel was organised by British socialist magazine Tribune; Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori was also due to attend, and Palestine Deep Dive’s Hala Hanina was to chair it.
Al Jazeera - Tribune editor Oliver Eagleton criticised the government’s decision. Irish novelist Sally Rooney called Malm a “brilliant and influential” intellectual.
Al Jazeera - Gareth Dale, a reader in political economy at Brunel University of London, criticised the decision and described Malm as a leading campaigner on climate breakdown and Palestine.
WHAT:
Al Jazeera - The Home Office cancelled Malm’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), telling him his “presence in the UK is not considered to be conducive to the public good.”
Al Jazeera - The Home Office said decisions to refuse or cancel ETAs on public-good grounds are based solely on an assessment of the potential risk an individual may pose to UK society. It said it does not comment on individual cases.
Al Jazeera - The Home Office told Malm to apply for a visa if he wished to visit; the UK government website gives a standard visitor visa processing time of three weeks.
Al Jazeera - Malm said he expected the British state to let him enter the country and discuss issues with colleagues and people who disagree with him.
Al Jazeera - More than 3,850 people have been arrested for publicly supporting Palestine Action since the group was banned, during largely peaceful protests.
Al Jazeera - Palestine Action was proscribed as a “terrorist” organisation under UK law and placed on the same legal list as al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS). Amnesty International and other rights groups have condemned the proscription.
Al Jazeera - Rooney’s books were withdrawn from sale in the UK, which Al Jazeera connected to her public support for Palestine Action.
WHERE:
Al Jazeera - The planned panel was to take place in London; Malm is based at Lund University in Sweden.
WHEN:
BBC News - The panel was scheduled for the following week.
Al Jazeera - The Home Office cancelled Malm’s ETA on a Wednesday, one week before the planned panel. Malm said his most recent UK visit was in May.
Al Jazeera - The article says Palestine Action was proscribed “last year” and that Rooney’s books were withdrawn “this month”; it does not provide calendar years for those references.
WHY:
Al Jazeera - Malm said he believed his ETA was cancelled because he was due to appear on the panel with Ammori. He said he had not publicly spoken or written about Palestine during the intervening months and called the decision “guilt by association.”
Al Jazeera - Malm said he had travelled regularly to the UK for decades and that his position on Palestine had long been public.
HOW:
Al Jazeera - Malm said he had used an ETA during his May visit, allowing him to travel to the UK again later without seeking reauthorisation. He said he received no warning before an email confirmed the revocation.
Al Jazeera - The Home Office said Malm would need to apply for a visa and that it would consider his circumstances in more detail before deciding.
Al Jazeera - Malm’s books include *How to Blow Up a Pipeline: Learning to Fight in a World on Fire* and *The Destruction of Palestine Is the Destruction of the Earth*.
(UPDATED October 30, 2026 19:07 UTC)
Swedish academic Andreas Malm says Britain cancelled his travel authorisation, barring his entry. He was due to join a London panel with Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori. The Home Office cited public-good grounds; Malm says the decision punishes association.