French comedian banned from entering UK

Britain has banned controversial French comedian Dieudonné M’bala M’bala from entering the UK.

In a statement, issued on Monday, Britain’s Home Office declared Dieudonné, whose performances were prohibited over allegations of being ‘anti-Semitic,’ persona non grata and warned that he would not be allowed into the country.

This came after the performer announced plans to support his British friend who had performed an allegedly anti-Semitic gesture.

Dieudonne said he would attend a hearing for footballer Nicolas Anelka, who is accused of performing an arm gesture known as quenelle during a Premier League match.

The quenelle involves placing one’s outstretched left palm on one’s right shoulder while pointing downward with one’s right arm.

The British Home Office, however, warned transport companies and border officials not to allow the comedian step on UK soil, citing security issues as the reason behind the ban.

“We can confirm that Mr. Dieudonné is subject to an exclusion order. The home secretary [Theresa May] will seek to exclude an individual from the UK if she considers that there are public policy or public security reasons to do so,” said a Home Office spokesperson.

On January 9, a French appeals court decided to uphold a ban on Dieudonné’s performances. The black man has infuriated the French government for what has been described as anti-Semitic implications in his popular controversial show, The Wall. The stand-up comedian has also been grilled over his use of a quenelle.

French Interior Minister Manuel Valls has termed the gesture “an inverted Nazi salute; an anti-Semitic gesture of hate.”

Dieudonné’s supporters, however, maintain that the quenelle is an anti-establishment expression, noting that the bans infringe his right to freedom of speech.