Dieudonne is 'persona non grata'

The French comedian accused of being an anti-semite has been banned from entering Britain.

Dieudonné M'bala M'bala had vowed to travel to the UK to support West Bromwich Albion striker Nicolas Anelka, who is facing a disciplinary hearing after performing a ‘quenelle’ – a reverse Nazi salute – on the pitch.

But after several of his shows were banned in France, the Home Office has now declared Dieudonne, who popularised the gesture, persona non grata.

A warning to border officials, airlines and other transport companies – and leaked to Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger – said that the performer is an ‘excluded’ individual.

A spokesman has now added: ‘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 had said he wanted to perform in the UK, as well as show support for his friend Anelka.

But in France he has been criticised over his stereotypical portrait of Jews and mocking of the Holocaust – which officials claim is a risk to public order. Last month, a gang marched through the streets of Paris shouting anti-semitic slogans.

France's interior minister Manuel Vall who supported the ban on Dieudonné's shows, said he was no longer artistic but engaged in the ‘mechanics of hate’.

But civil liberties campaigners accused the French government of attacking free speech and of censorship.

Dieudonné’s home has also been raided as part of an investigation into suspected fraud, and the equivalent of £500,000 in cash removed. The comedian has been convicted six times for defamation, and is suspected of hiding his money to avoid paying his fines.

The comic’s lawyer, Jacques Verdier, has said the French were involved in an ‘organised hunt for Dieudonné’.

Dieudonné’s last visit to Britain was in 2010, when he appeared in front of a large of audience of mainly French expatriates at The Savoy theatre in London.

Published: 3 Feb 2014