Far-right Danish politician Paludan denied entry to UK for Quran burning act

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) — Britain on Monday said far-right Danish politician Rasmus Paludan will be denied entry to the UK to carry out a provocative act of burning a copy of the Muslim holy book.

Responding a question by Wakefield Labour MP Simon Lightwood, Home Office Minister for Security Tom Tugendhat said Paludan had been added to a "warnings index" and would not be allowed into the country to carry out a Quran burning.

"Far-right Islamophobic Danish politician Rasmus Paludan said he's going to travel from Denmark to Wakefield for the sole purpose of burning a Quran in a public place," Lightwood said as he was asking a question to home office ministers at the House of Commons.

"Mr. Paludan was previously jailed in Denmark for his hateful and racist statements. He's a dangerous man that should not be allowed into this country. Can the Home Secretary assure me and my community that the government is taking action to prevent this?" Lightwood asked.

Tugendhat said Paludan would not be allowed into the country for the act of burning of copy of Quran.

"Now I inform the house that Mr. Paludan has been added to the warnings index and therefore his travel to the United Kingdom would not be conducive with the public good and he will not be allowed access," Tugendhat said.

Paludan on social media said last weekend that he would travel to the English city of Wakefield to burn a copy of Quran on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan.

Paludan, who is the leader of the far-right Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party, burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm in January with police protection and permission from Swedish authorities.

The following week, he burned a copy of the holy book in front of a mosque in Denmark, prompting condemnation from many Muslim-majority countries, including Türkiye.