Seven people barred from coming to UK for far-right rally

Seven people hoping to attend a far-right rally in central London on Saturday have been blocked from entering the country by the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood.

Keir Starmer, the prime minister, promised on Monday to block “far-right agitators” hoping to attend the Unite the Kingdom event on 16 May organised by Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.

Joey Mannarino, a US-based commentator, and Valentina Gomez, a Maga influencer, had their authorisation to enter the UK withdrawn on the grounds that their presence “would not be conducive to the public good”. The identities of the other five banned people are not known.

In a speech aimed at resetting his premiership, Starmer said he would ban extremists from coming to Britain to speak at the nationalist march on Saturday. “This is nothing less than a battle for the soul of our nation,” he added.

Joey Mannarino, who has been barred from entering the UK, speaks to a Britain First rally in Manchester last August. Photograph: Peter Powell/AFP/Getty Images

An estimated 100,000 people attended last year’s nationalist event, thought to be the largest far-right rally of its type in British history.

The event was addressed remotely by the tycoon Elon Musk, who was condemned by Downing Street for using “dangerous and inflammatory” language.

Mannarino and Gomez were given permission to enter the UK via an electronic travel authorisation but the Home Office intervened to withdraw this approval.

Mannarino was accused of misogyny after declaring publicly that he would never believe a rape allegation regardless of any court verdict. He spoke at Britain First’s March for Remigration events in Birmingham and Manchester last summer.

Valentina Gomez, who is also banned from the UK, speaks at the Unite the Kingdom rally in London last September. Photograph: Instagram

Gomez, 26, attended the first Unite the Kingdom rally in September last year alongside Robinson and warned from the stage that “rapist Muslims” were “taking over” the UK.

The far-right march coincides with a Nakba Day event marking the 1948 displacement of Palestinians during the establishment of Israel. Both events are being reviewed by the Metropolitan police amid claims of a “risk of public disorder” after the Golders Green attacks.

Sir Mark Rowley, the Met’s Commissioner, has expressed “concerned” about the scale of the protests and has said his officers were “looking hard at what conditions and powers we should use”.

A spokesperson for the prime minister said a decision on the events was a matter for the police, adding: “Those who threaten our communities and spread racism have no place on the streets of the UK where individuals pose a threat or seek to spread extremism the government won’t hesitate to deny entry.”