Lauren Southern, a Canadian right-wing activist, was denied entry into the UK because she criticized Islam. I could see this happening if she were trying to enter Saudi Arabia or a -stan country, but the UK? Is this post-parody or what?
The UK Border Force can refuse entry to persons who are not "conducive to the public good". If Southern's criticism of Islam is not "conducive to the public good", then what is? Southern went to the UK to visit Tommy Robinson, another critic of Islam. Southern described the questioning process as "bizarre" as she was questioned about being a Christian extremist and running over people with cars and was interrogated about her political views. She was said to have distributed racist materials, likely those that deal with the white Afrikaner genocide in South Africa.
How is it racist to talk about how racism works in other countries? Alt-righters and white supremacists have covered this issue because they're identity politicians and ideological zealots like the alt-left. In addition to criticizing Islam and commenting on the Afrikaner genocide, Southern is anti-feminist and opposed to NGO rescue boats landing on European shores and joined a boat with an alt-right group called Defend Europe. She was banned from Patreon, a crowdfunding platform, as a result.
I am all for free speech, but not necessarily an advocate for the way Lauren Southern uses it. She strikes me as one of those "I'm going to be as right-leaning as possible to OWN THE LIBS" people. It's politics for the sake of shock value. However, her being denied entry into the UK can very well foreshadow a coming era of censorship in the country. Censorship will start with "controversial" figures and slowly trickle down to the general public. Southern plans to sue the UK for being denied entry into the country.
Do I agree with the whole of Lauren Southern's politics? No. Do I think banning her from the UK and interrogating her about being a terrorist is a bit extreme? Yes. All extreme bans will do is add fuel to the fire when it comes to banning people from countries on the basis of them producing shock value politics. Assuming that shock value politics alone kept Southern out of the UK and not any actual plans of terrorism, I personally think the ban was unjustified.
As for suing the UK, I don't know how Canada or the UK would approach suing a sovereign nation or if she even can do it due to the UK being protected under sovereign immunity. However, suits against other countries have been filed in the past, but shock politics may not justify overriding sovereign immunity. If Southern plans to take any legal action, she may be able to sue Border Force on the grounds of being falsely accused of terrorism.
Sources and Photos:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/03/12/right-wing-journalist-lauren-southern-denied-entry-to-uk-purportedly-over-criticism-islam.html
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/04/12/far-right-youtuber-lauren-southern-banned-uk-speaks-european-parliament-spreads-narrative
https://www.npr.org/2016/10/08/497164736/how-do-you-go-about-suing-a-country