Thousands Sign Petition to #BanBannon from UK Amid Former Trump Aide's Push to Spread Far-Right Extremism in Europe
In just three days, a petition in the United Kingdom aimed at keeping right-wing operative and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon from entering the country has gathered more than half the signatures it needs in order for the government to issue a formal response.
“Steve Bannon is a far-right political figure who poses a direct risk to the security of the U.K.,” reads the petition started by a British citizen named Bruce Johnston. “He should not be allowed to enter the UK to spread messages of hate.”
After publishing the notice on British Parliament’s website on Friday, Johnston had already gathered more than 6,700 signatures as of Monday afternoon.
After 10,000 people sign on, the government will be required to respond. Parliament will consider the motion for debate once 100,000 Britons pledge their support for the petition.
Bannon “is dangerous and really shouldn’t be in the country,” Johnston told Bloomberg News. “We need to get to the stage where we protect our democracy.”
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Bannon, the former executive editor of Breitbart News, was one of President Donald Trump’s top strategists and heavily influenced the administration’s Muslim ban and the president’s demand for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
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Since leaving the White House, he has announced his intention to help the spread of his far-right, anti-immigration views in Europe, where xenophobic populism has already taken hold in several countries. Last week, he announced the establishment of a foundation known as The Movement to further this goal.
Bannon is a close ally of the U.K. Independence Party (UKIP), which has pushed for Brexit and announced this week that it would support Bannon’s populist movement. He also called anti-Muslim English Defense League founder Tommy Robinson the “backbone” of the U.K.
The rapid response to Johnston’s anti-Bannon petition comes two weeks after hundreds of thousands of Britons took to the streets to loudly protest Trump’s visit to the United Kingdom.
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