Britain has barred Swedish academic Andreas Malm from entering the country, cancelling his electronic travel authorisation days before he was due to speak in London alongside the co-founder of Palestine Action, a group banned in the UK as a terrorist organisation.
Malm said on Friday, October 30, that he had been told his presence in the UK was “not conducive to the public good”, with no further explanation given. Britain’s Home Office said it does not comment on individual cases.
What happened
Malm, a climate academic at Sweden’s Lund University, told BBC Radio 4 that he received a message from the Home Office saying his presence in the UK was not conducive to the public good. According to event organiser Tribune magazine, his Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) had been cancelled.
Malm said he was notified of the decision before travelling to the UK. He described the decision as scandalous and urged the government to reverse it.
“I’ve been going back and forth to the UK for years, for decades, to do my scientific work, my archival research, my participation in conferences. This is the main purpose of my visit to the UK this time too,” Malm said.
“What this means is that I am banned from doing my work as an intellectual, as an academic.”
The event he was due to attend
Malm had been due to appear at an event next Wednesday organised by the socialist magazine Tribune, alongside Huda Ammori, the co-founder of Palestine Action. Times Higher Education reports the event, scheduled for November 4, is titled “Washington’s global reign of terror and Britain’s role in reinforcing it”.
The event was set to discuss the impact of Palestine Action’s proscription and to coincide with a Supreme Court challenge to the group’s designation. Tribune editor Oliver Eagleton said Malm had been due to speak about attacks on freedom of speech, including the implications of the proscription.
“He is being censored for speaking out about censorship, in truly Orwellian fashion,” Eagleton said.
Malm said he had been due to speak about the war in Iran at the event. He added that he had not publicly endorsed, promoted or financially supported Palestine Action.
Malm was also due to attend an academic conference and to appear on BBC Radio 4’s “Radical with Gabriel Gatehouse” during the visit.
Why Malm thinks he was barred
Malm said he suspected the ban was linked to the planned appearance alongside Ammori. Asked by the BBC whether it could instead be linked to previous comments in which he called Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel “an act of liberation”, Malm said “it could be”.
The Home Office has not given a specific reason beyond the “public good” wording reported by Malm, and it declined to comment on his individual case. That leaves the exact basis for the cancellation unconfirmed in public.
Who is Andreas Malm?
Malm is a Swedish climate scholar and academic at Lund University, and a vocal critic of Israel who has expressed strong support for the Palestinian movement. He is best known for his book “How to Blow Up a Pipeline”, which argues that radical action is necessary to stop fossil fuel extraction.
He has travelled to the UK for decades for academic research, lectures and conferences. He conducted archival research in the country for his PhD dissertation, lectured at dozens of universities and took part in many more conferences. His previous engagements included Oxford, Cambridge and King’s College London.
“I have always considered the UK a centre of the world of ideas, where differences in opinions and scientific approaches can be aired freely,” Malm said, describing his longstanding relationship with the country.
Reaction to the ban
Malm said he was deeply dismayed by the decision. “I have been going to the UK for decades — this is where I did my archival research for my PhD dissertation and lectured at dozens of universities and participated in even more conferences,” he said.
His publisher, Verso Books, said it was “shocked and disturbed” by the decision. “Never in over 55 years of publishing has a British government revoked the right of one of our authors to enter the country,” it said, adding that no reason was given for the ban. Verso urged the government to restore Malm’s electronic travel authorisation immediately and allow him entry.
Irish novelist Sally Rooney criticised the decision as “a sad and frightening act of cultural self-harm”, describing Malm as one of Europe’s influential intellectuals. Earlier in October, Rooney said her books would no longer be sold in Britain over her plans to use her royalties to support Palestine Action.
Background: Palestine Action and the Supreme Court
Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK government in July 2025. Under the proscription, expressing support for the group has become a criminal offence.
Britain’s Supreme Court is due to hear an appeal next week on the proscription of Palestine Action under terrorism laws. The Tribune event featuring Malm and Ammori was timed to take place ahead of that hearing.
A wider pattern of entry bans
The Malm case is not the first entry ban of its kind this year. In June, Britain blocked left-wing Turkish-American media personality Cenk Uygur and his nephew Hasan Piker from entering the country to speak at events.
Britain has also imposed travel bans on far-right Israeli ministers and banned Israelis from attending a prestigious London defence studies college, according to Reuters.
Why it matters
The case sits at the intersection of immigration powers, free speech and the proscription regime. The government can refuse entry on “public good” grounds without, in this case, publicly explaining the specific basis — a point Malm and his supporters have seized on.
For academics and publishers, the ban raises a practical question: whether scholars with long records of UK visits can still rely on being admitted for conferences, lectures and archival work. For the wider debate, the timing — days before a Supreme Court hearing on Palestine Action’s ban — guarantees the case will be cited by both critics and defenders of the proscription.
What happens next
The immediate questions are whether the Home Office will restore Malm’s travel authorisation, whether he will be able to take part in the November 4 Tribune event remotely, and what, if anything, the government says publicly about the case.
The Supreme Court hearing on Palestine Action’s proscription next week is the next fixed point in the story. Any ruling there will shape the legal context in which the Malm ban is debated, even though the entry decision itself is a separate immigration matter.
Timeline
- July 2025: Palestine Action is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK government.
- June 2026: Britain blocks Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker from entering the country to speak at events.
- Early October 2026: Sally Rooney says her books will no longer be sold in Britain over her plans to use her royalties to support Palestine Action.
- October 30, 2026: Malm says his UK travel authorisation has been cancelled on “public good” grounds, days before his planned London appearances.
- November 4, 2026: Tribune event featuring Malm and Huda Ammori is scheduled in London.
- Next week: Britain’s Supreme Court is due to hear an appeal on the proscription of Palestine Action.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Andreas Malm?
Andreas Malm is a Swedish climate academic at Lund University and the author of “How to Blow Up a Pipeline”. He has visited the UK for decades for research, lectures and conferences.
Why was Andreas Malm barred from the UK?
Malm says he was told his presence in the UK was “not conducive to the public good” and that his travel authorisation was cancelled, with no further clarification. The Home Office does not comment on individual cases, so the specific basis has not been publicly confirmed.
What event was Malm due to attend?
He was due to speak at a Tribune magazine event in London on November 4, alongside Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori, ahead of a Supreme Court hearing on the group’s proscription.
What is Palestine Action?
Palestine Action is a pro-Palestine group proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK government in July 2025. Expressing support for the group has since become a criminal offence under UK law.
Has Malm endorsed Palestine Action?
Malm says he has not publicly endorsed, promoted or financially supported Palestine Action. He says he suspected the ban was linked to the planned appearance, while also accepting it could be linked to his earlier comments about the October 7 attack.
Can the ban be reversed?
Malm and his publisher Verso Books have urged the government to restore his travel authorisation immediately. Whether the Home Office does so has not been announced.
Related coverage
No earlier lhepen post covers UK entry bans or Palestine Action, so this article carries no forced link to an unrelated post. More world news can be found in our World section.