Right-wing Polish writer accused of anti-Semitism is REFUSED entry to the UK for his ‘views at odds with British values’ after being detained at Heathrow – sparking diplomatic row as Warsaw summons British ambassador
- Rafal Ziemkiewicz was held at Heathrow Airport in London airport on Saturday
- He was subsequently denied entry and flew back to Warsaw
- Was denied entry because of ‘conduct and views which are at odds with British values and likely to cause offence’
A right-wing Polish writer who has previously been accused of anti-Semitism was refused entry to the UK after being detained at Heathrow Airport, sparking a diplomatic row with Poland.
Rafal Ziemkiewicz was held at the London airport on Saturday after travelling to Britain with his wife and daughter, who is starting a course at Oxford University.
He was subsequently denied entry and flew back to Warsaw. Ziemkiewicz has also been accused of homophobia and justifying rape.
A Home Office letter posted on Twitter by Labour MP Rupa Huq said Ziemkiewicz was being denied entry because of ‘conduct and views which are at odds with British values and likely to cause offence’.
It added that it was therefore ‘undesirable’ for the writer to be allowed to enter the UK.
Ms Huq previously spoke out against a proposed UK speaking tour by Ziemkiewicz in 2018.
Responding to the snub, Poland’s deputy foreign minister said on Twitter that they would ‘invite’ Britain’s Ambassador to Poland, Anna Clunes, to the country’s foreign ministry to ‘make sure that freedom of speech is included in the catalogue of British values and to ask how this corresponds to the attitude of British services to Rafal Ziemkiewicz’.
Right-wing Polish writer Rafal Ziemkiewicz, who has previously been accused of anti-Semitism, was refused entry to the UK after being detained at Heathrow Airport, sparking a diplomatic row with Poland
Neither the British embassy nor Ziemkiewicz could immediately be reached for comment.
In an interview with right-wing Polish weekly publication Do Rzeczy on Sunday, Ziemkiewicz blamed the UK authorities’ decision on a misleading impression of him created by liberal and left-wing Poles.
‘I fell victim to a really powerful hatred against Poland by Poles themselves,’ he was quoted as saying.
Poland’s Human Rights Ombudsman has accused Ziemkiewicz of anti-Semitism after he said on Polish public television last year that Jews had cooperated with Germans in the Holocaust.
In 2014 he was accused of justifying rape after a Tweet in which he said ‘whoever has never taken advantage of a drunk person, let him throw the first stone’.
Ziemkiewicz, who writes for Do Rzeczy and is the author of several books, cancelled a trip to Britain in 2018 after Ms Huq raised concerns with the police over his views.
A Border Force letter posted on Twitter by Labour MP Rupa Huq said Ziemkiewicz was being denied entry because of ‘conduct and views which are at odds with British values and likely to cause offence’. It added that it was therefore ‘undesirable’ for the writer to be allowed to enter the UK
She said on Twitter on Saturday: ‘In 2018 when far-right Rafał Ziemkiewicz was planning a UK speaking tour including Acton I raised concerns with @metpoliceuk and he cancelled’.
‘Anyone propagating racism including Islamophobia and Holocaust denial is unwelcome locally. Today looks like he’s been banned nationally:
She also told Vice News: ‘In the UK we do not believe in or provide a platform to people who hold anti-Semitic, racist or homophobic beliefs.
Responding to the snub, Poland’s deputy foreign minister said on Twitter that they would ‘invite’ Britain’s Ambassador to Poland, Anna Clunes, to the country’s foreign ministry to ‘make sure that freedom of speech is included in the catalogue of British values and to ask how this corresponds to the attitude of British services to Rafal Ziemkiewicz’
‘As an MP who represents a constituency with the second largest population of Polish people outside of Poland, I have a duty to stand up for what is right.
I have also been commended for raising the issue by many Polish people in my constituency.
‘Although I did not have any involvement or influence over the decision made by the Border Force yesterday, I support the decision to not allow anybody into the UK who is not conducive to British values.’
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