Shocking UK Ban: Dutch Far Right Activist Ally of Robinson
A Dutch anti immigration activist with close links to Tommy Robinson has been banned from travelling to Britain after the Home Office ruled that her presence would not be in the public interest.
Eva Vlaardingerbroek, 29, confirmed that her electronic travel authorisation, known as an ETA, was cancelled after officials concluded she posed a threat to UK society. As a result, she will now need to apply for a visa if she wants to enter the country.
Ms Vlaardingerbroek said she was not given a detailed explanation for the decision, which she learned about earlier this week. Speaking to The Telegraph, she described the move as a travel ban and suggested it was politically motivated.
She said she had recently discussed plans with Robinson about speaking at his next rally in May and had publicly criticised Keir Starmer on free speech issues days before her ETA was withdrawn. She said it was difficult not to draw a connection between those events.
In a post on X on 9 January, Ms Vlaardingerbroek accused the prime minister of allowing what she described as the rape and killing of British girls by migrant gangs. In the same post, she criticised government proposals to regulate social media platforms, accusing Mr Starmer of hypocrisy on women’s safety.
She said she had not applied for a new ETA since her last visit to Britain in September, when she attended Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom demonstration. She had also been planning to return for another protest later this year.
At the September rally, which organisers claimed drew tens of thousands of people, Ms Vlaardingerbroek addressed the crowd with a speech condemning mass migration. She told supporters that European societies were losing their homelands and warned that civilisation was at risk.
Claim of shrinking freedoms
Reacting to the ban, Ms Vlaardingerbroek said the decision reinforced her view that Britain was becoming less free.
She said she was a Dutch citizen with no criminal record and was not under investigation for any offence, yet had been given no opportunity to challenge the decision. She contrasted her treatment with that of people who cross the Channel illegally and are then allowed to remain in the UK.
Ms Vlaardingerbroek was a prominent figure in the Dutch farmers’ protests in 2023 and previously stood as a candidate for Forum for Democracy, a right wing party in the Netherlands. She is known for her fierce criticism of the former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte and for promoting views that critics describe as far right conspiracy theories.
Under current rules, Dutch citizens do not need a visa to visit the UK, provided they obtain a £16 ETA, which is usually granted automatically. However, the Home Office has the power to revoke an ETA without appeal in certain circumstances.
In correspondence seen by journalists, Ms Vlaardingerbroek was told that her presence in the UK was not considered conducive to the public good. Home Office guidance states this can apply where a person’s character, conduct or associations make their entry undesirable.
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Ms Vlaardingerbroek said she felt she was being treated like a terrorist because of her opinions. She added that applying for a visa now would likely be a lengthy process that would end in refusal.
Political reaction and wider context
Former prime minister Liz Truss criticised the decision, saying people who speak openly about problems in Britain are banned while criminals are allowed to stay.
A US State Department official described the grounds for the ban as opaque and frivolous. Another senior official, Sarah Rogers, said on X that countries have long restricted visas based on vague or viewpoint based reasons.
Ms Vlaardingerbroek’s ban follows a similar case last year involving Renaud Camus, a French writer known for opposing mass migration, who was also denied an ETA on public interest grounds.
The decision is likely to intensify debate over free speech and immigration policy, particularly given Ms Vlaardingerbroek’s popularity among right wing activists and her links to pro Trump circles. It also comes as the UK government faces scrutiny over its stance on online platforms and its response to controversies involving social media content.
Ms Vlaardingerbroek said she believed her comments about the prime minister’s handling of online safety and grooming gangs played a role in the decision, adding that she viewed the ban as punishment for expressing her views rather than any criminal behaviour.
