UK Revokes Travel Privileges for Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker After Grooming Gang Denial and "Incitement to Murder" Clips
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood cancelled the uncle-nephew duo's ETAs ahead of SXSW London, citing concerns including Uygur's dismissal of evidence tied to 1,400 Rotherham grooming gang victims.
On June 1, 2026, UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood cancelled the Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs) of Young Turks host Cenk Uygur and his nephew, Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, blocking both from speaking at SXSW London and, in Uygur’s case, the Oxford Union. The Home Office determined that their presence “may not be conducive to the public good.” According to The Times, Mahmood’s decision on Uygur was driven in part by his on-camera dismissal of evidence relating to the grooming gangs in towns such as Rotherham — where an independent inquiry identified an estimated 1,400 child victims abused between 1997 and 2013.
Piker, meanwhile, has a documented record of statements that Elon Musk and others have characterized as “incitement to murder.” The decisions mark one of the most consequential UK actions to date against high-reach online figures whose recorded statements officials say cross the threshold of acceptable public discourse.
Not a “Ban” — A Revoked Privilege
Despite Uygur’s claim he was “banned for criticizing Israel,” the Home Office did not formally bar either commentator. It cancelled the ETAs that allow US travelers visa-free entry for stays up to six months.
Both men remain free to apply for a standard visa like any other foreign national. The Home Office stated that “decisions to refuse or cancel an ETA on these grounds are based solely on an assessment of the potential risk an individual may pose to UK society.”
Rotherham: The Evidence Uygur Dismissed
The Jay Report, published in August 2014, documented that at least 1,400 children — some as young as 11 — had been raped, trafficked, and intimidated in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013, “predominantly by men of Pakistani heritage.” Professor Alexis Jay found that some council staff feared identifying perpetrators’ ethnic origins “for fear of being thought racist,” and that senior managers had “underplayed” the scale of the problem.
The National Crime Agency’s Operation Stovewood has since identified more than 1,100 victims and secured 36 convictions. The Times reported that Uygur appeared to dismiss this documented evidence during a conversation with Piers Morgan, where he was widely criticized for downplaying the scale of the scandal.
Uygur’s Pattern of Denialism
Uygur’s Rotherham comments fit a longer pattern. He spent years denying the Armenian Genocide — the namesake of his network, “The Young Turks,” refers to the Ottoman political movement responsible for the 1915 mass murder of over a million Armenians.
CNN’s Chris Cuomo grilled Uygur on that record during his 2019 Congressional run. After the ETA cancellation, Uygur wrote that “no amount of censorship will get us to stop telling the truth.”
Piker: A Documented Record of Calls to Violence
Piker’s record extends well beyond rhetorical excess. In resurfaced clips compiled in September 2025, Piker told his audience:
“Kill them! Kill those motherfkers! Murder those motherfkers in the streets! Let the streets soak in their red capitalist bloods.” In a separate clip, he urged viewers: “You need to be gutting them… you need to be shanking these motherf**kers… and letting their intestines just ride on the stage.”
Elon Musk responded by calling the statements “incitement to murder.” Piker has separately said America “deserved 9/11.” Piker has also recently been under scrutiny for his alleged ties the Neville Roy Singham network and his links to the Communist China Party (CCP).
A Policy Applied Across the Spectrum
The framing of the decision matters. Countries possess sovereign authority to determine who crosses their borders, and ETA cancellation is not a “ban” — it is a refusal of a privileged visa-free shortcut. Both Uygur and Piker can still apply for visas under standard scrutiny.
The Home Office under Mahmood has also blocked 11 foreign nationals described by Sir Keir Starmer as “far-right agitators” ahead of a Tommy Robinson-led rally in central London, including Polish politician Dominik Tarczynski, Belgian politician Filip Dewinter, and Dutch activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek — indicating the policy is being applied across the ideological spectrum.
What is striking is not that two commentators lost a travel convenience, but what their records reveal: a media ecosystem in which dismissing documented child rape evidence, denying historical genocides, and calling for opponents to be gutted in the streets can build audiences in the millions. The UK’s decision does not silence Uygur or Piker — they retain global platforms reaching tens of thousands daily. It simply declines to fast-track their entry while their words remain on the record.
I never knew these two were related! No doubt about it: hate mongering is good business in these troubled times.