The British government, led by the radical, left-liberal globalist Labor Party, has banned 78-year-old French philosopher and author Renaud Camus from entering the country, alleging that his ‘controversial’ views on mass migration are a threat to “the public good.”
The decision, which follows a long list of dissident speakers who’ve faced entry bans into the UK, has sparked a wave of backlash from free speech advocates, political commentators, and international figures, who say the move reflects the UK political class’s increasing intolerance for dissenting opinions.
Camus, who originally coined the term “The Great Replacement” to describe the idea that mass migration is contributing to the demographic replacement of native Europeans, as well as Americans and Canadians with European ancestry, had been slated to speak at a nationalist event later this month. However, that appearance has been scrapped after the UK Home Office denied his travel authorization, effectively barring him from entering the country.
In an email seen by The Telegraph, the UK’s Home Office, analogous to the US Department of Homeland Security, told Camus his presence was “not considered to be conducive to the public good.”
The philosopher, known for his sharp criticism of unchecked immigration, didn’t hold back in his response. “I’ve always admired England as a beacon of free speech,” he said. “To be banned from that country for expressing ideas—well, that tells you everything about where Britain is headed.”
Vauban Books, the independent publisher of Camus’ work in English, reacted to the news, writing on social media: “The decision to bar Renaud Camus from the UK is only further confirmation that that country has abandoned the most basic principles of liberal democracy.
“Camus is one of our greatest living writers and will be remembered as such by posterity. The Starmer government, by contrast, will be remembered – if it’s remembered at all – only for its serial betrayals and profound mediocrity.
After learning he’d been banned from entering the UK, Renaud Camus joined Professor Matt Goodwin on State of the Nation for an interview on GB News.
Responding to the Home Office’s decision, Camus said:
“Well, I was sort of amused. I very much like England and, of course, in my idea England has been the country of free speech par excellence.
“It’s just sort of amusing to be banned for saying what I like to say in the conference in England.”
He continued: “I was probably banned because they thought I was an adversary to what is going on in this country now, which I am very much. I think what is going on in England, as is what is going on in France or any of the western countries, is a crime.
“I disagree very much with all of these governments and it’s not very surprising that they see me as an adversary, I am very much.
‘Do you view what has happened to you in the UK as a symptom of a broader problem?’
Renaud Camus says it is ‘amusing’ that Britain, with its reputation for free speech, has banned the author from entering the country. pic.twitter.com/XFhWbhxpyr
— GB News (@GBNEWS) April 18, 2025
Camus, whose work has influenced conservative and nationalist thinkers across Europe, insists his views are cultural and civilizational—not racial—and he has publicly rejected hatred, bigotry, and violence. Still, the UK government appears to have lumped his ideas into the same category as incitement, setting off alarm bells for anyone who values open debate.
The Free Speech Union (FSU), a UK-based organization that defends individuals from censorship, has pledged to help Camus appeal the decision. Lord Young, chairman of the FSU, called the move “wrong and deeply troubling,” adding, “Banning someone from sharing their views—however controversial—is not how free societies deal with disagreement. We counter bad ideas with better ones, not border control.”
Camus’s supporters weren’t the only ones to speak out. British columnist Michael Deacon also weighed in, questioning whether UK citizens who agree with Camus’s views might eventually face similar treatment. “If criticizing mass immigration is grounds for exile, what happens to the millions of Brits who feel the same way?” he asked.
Adding to the outrage is the UK’s track record of allowing controversial foreign clerics with extremist views to enter the country, while blocking someone like Camus, who has never incited violence or broken the law. Critics see this as a dangerous double standard that threatens the very foundation of Western liberal democracy.
Camus had also been invited to speak at the prestigious Oxford Union later this year, though those plans are now uncertain. Meanwhile, he remains defiant. “Of all the European governments guilty of enabling mass migration, Britain is among the worst,” he said. “It’s no surprise they don’t want me to speak.”
The legal justification for the ban comes from Section 3(5)(a) of the UK’s Immigration Act 1971, a law originally meant to block threats to national security. Over the past decade or so, however, its use has expanded to include people whose ideas might supposedly cause social unrest, even if they’ve never committed a crime.
Critics warn that such vague and sweeping powers open the door to political censorship. “It’s not about keeping dangerous people out,” one commentator noted. “It’s about silencing voices that challenge the status quo.”
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