French anti-migration philosopher banned from entering Britain

Telegraph

18-04-2025

A philosopher opposed to mass migration has been banned from entering Britain after the Home Office ruled his presence would go against 'the public good'.
Renaud Camus, the French novelist, was barred from travelling to the UK to speak on immigration later this month.
The 78-year-old has warned that unchecked immigration will lead to demographic 'replacement' of Europe's indigenous populations.
In an email seen by The Telegraph, the Home Office informed Mr Camus that he had been denied the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) needed to enter Britain.
'Your presence in the UK is not considered to be conducive to the public good,' the email read.
Mr Camus, who is an openly gay advocate for non-violence, told this newspaper that 'of all the European governments guilty' of allowing unchecked migration, 'the British government is one of the guiltiest'.
'No wonder it does not want me to speak,' Mr Camus added.
Vauban Books, the independent publisher of Camus' work in English, said: '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.
'Here as elsewhere, it has inadvertently shown just how precious Camus' voice is, now more than ever.'
The Home Office was approached for comment.
It is understood that Mr Camus was to deliver a speech at an event organised by the nationalist and anti-immigration Homeland Party.
Growing debate over free speech
One of the party's policies is the re-migration, or encouraged mass emigration, of unintegrated and illegal migrants.
Mr Camus himself has been branded a conspiracy theorist for his view that mass immigration will lead to the replacement of settled populations.
The denial of his ETA comes amid a growing debate over free speech in the UK, particularly on the issue of immigration. Some have argued that the 2024 summer riots in the wake of the Southport murders were fuelled by online misinformation.
The Government has pledged to clamp down on people 'pushing harmful and hateful beliefs'.
Police forces across the country have been criticised for investigating 'non-crime hate incidents', an issue which gained greater prominence after Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson was visited by Essex Police in 2024 over a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Pearson recently raised concerns about the case of Northampton childminder Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for 31 months over a social media post.
The mother was sentenced in October 2024 after she pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred in an X post that related to the summer riots.
Mr Camus last year claimed that Amazon censored one of his books.
After being shunned by mainstream publishers, the French author attempted to share his latest volume on Amazon's Kindle service, which provides a way for writers to self-publish and circumvent the literary establishment.
However, it emerged the service uses artificial intelligence technology to review the content of submitted documents.
Mr Camus received a message saying his book titled The Great Replacement was 'blocked' after it was assessed through the Kindle screening process.
The company said the block on the publication was an error. After being contacted by Mr Camus' lawyers, Amazon said the book would be 'reinstated'.
Mr Camus alleged that the block was an attempt to 'censor' his work through a 'dystopian screening of literature'.