Anti-Semitic French comic Dieudonné banned from entering Britain

The comedian who is said to have invented the quenelle gesture, which is seen by many as anti-Semitic, has been banned from entering the UK.

Dieudonné M'bala M'bala previously announced he would visit London to support his friend, the French soccer player Nicolas Anelka, but a spokesperson for Home Secretary Theresa May announced on Monday that "we can confirm that Mr. Dieudonné is subject to an exclusion order. The home secretary will seek to exclude an individual from the UK if she considers that there are public policy or public security reasons to do so."

Dieudonné, who has been prosecuted for inciting racial hatred through anti-Semitic jokes and comments, is credited with creating the 'quenelle', a hand and arm movement many regards as a reverse Nazi salute. The 47-year-old comedian, who has previously said the gesture was anti-establishment, had several shows banned in France last month amid fears his portrayal of Jews and mocking of the Holocaust were a risk to public order.

He rewrote the shows, dropping much of the material deemed offensive but fans and civil liberties campaigners hit out at the French government for attacking free speech and censorship. Anelka has also previously said his salute, which he described as a "dedication" to Dieudonné, was aimed at the French establishment. The player has insisted he was not anti-Semitic or racist.

The order to ban M'bala M'bala from entering the UK was first reported by the Swiss newspaper 'TagesAnzeiger'.

Jewish organizations praise decision

The Board of Deputies of British Jews and other groups had petitioned Home Secretary Theresa May to prevent Dieudonné from entering Britain. In a statement, the Board, the Jewish Leadership Council and the Community Security Trust welcomed the decision: "Our organizations worked together to provide strong evidence about Dieudonné’s activities, and the risks and tensions that his presence in Britain would have brought. We thank the [British] government for its prompt and correct decision. The exclusion order demonstrates this government’s opposition to anti-Semitism and will be warmly welcomed by both British and French Jews."

The European Jewish Congress also applauded the decision. EJC President Moshe Kantor declared: “It is our hope that other nations will follow suit and deprive Dieudonné of the ability to spread his hate and acts of provocation...“Those like Anelka who blindly follow the hatred of Dieudonné should also be penalized and I hope the [English] Football Association will take advice from the British government that the French comedian is a dangerous figure and those that mimic him join him in his hate and incitement.”