Dutch Starmer critic barred from UK

Dutch political commentator and activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek (Vlaar) has been banned from entering the UK after criticizing Prime Minister Keir Starmer for neglecting migrant crime.

Vlaar, with over 2 million followers on X and Instagram, is a former right-wing Forum voor Democratie (FvD) politician who has built an international audience criticizing mass migration and European policies.

On Wednesday, Vlaar announced she had received official notice that her UK ETA – a pre-travel entry clearance for visa-exempt foreigners – had been revoked. The notice stated her presence in the UK is not “conducive to the public good” and that the decision could not be appealed.

The ban followed a post criticizing Starmer’s claim that Britain’s social media crackdown, including on X, was about “women’s safety.” She called Starmer “an evil, despicable man” for ignoring “the ongoing rape and killing of British girls by migrant rape gangs,” referencing the UK grooming gangs scandal. The scandal, involving groups of men of mostly foreign origin sexually exploiting children, first drew attention in the early 2010s, but Starmer’s government only launched a formal probe in mid-2025, after a private inquiry by MP Rupert Lowe.

On Steve Bannon’s War Room, Vlaar said she was shocked by the ban but said it likely stemmed from her post critical of Starmer, which “it seems he didn’t like.”

She also pointed to her participation in last September’s Unite the Kingdom rally – an anti-government, anti-immigration protest organized by right-wing activist Tommy Robinson – as a possible factor. The UK authorities condemned the rally, with Starmer accusing its organizers of promoting “division” in British society.

Vlaar’s ban drew a slew of reactions from public figures internationally. Lowe called it “disgraceful” and formally asked the Home Office to reverse it. Dutch politician Lidewij de Vos deemed it “extremely worrying” and urged diplomatic action. Hungarian PM Viktor Orban retweeted Vlaar, saying, “You’re always welcome in Hungary!” Russian presidential aide Kirill Dmitriev called the ban “Starmer’s vindictiveness and censorship in action.”

The ban comes amid controversy over Britain’s hate speech and online safety laws, which critics say target political dissent and social commentary that challenges government policies rather than harmful content. Vlaar’s case adds to a growing list of high-profile figures denied entry on public good grounds, including French novelist Renaud Camus and South African opposition leader Julius Malema. Vlaar later wrote on Instagram that her travel ban “indisputably proves the UK is no longer a free country.”