Kanye West has been blocked from entering Britain after a row over his anti-Semitic comments.
Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, prevented the American rapper’s visit to headline the Wireless Festival on the grounds that his presence would “not be conducive to the public good”.
The organisers of the north London music festival said the entire event had been cancelled as a result.
It is understood that West had applied for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to enter Britain on Monday, but sources confirmed that the Government had denied him entry.
The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism said the Home Office had “clearly made the right decision”.
A spokesman added: “It’s nice that now Wireless is saying anti-Semitism in all its forms is abhorrent, when just a few hours ago the festival promoter was saying we all need to forgive Kanye for declaring himself a full-blown Nazi, only recently.
“There are plenty of musicians in the world who could have headlined this festival and brought delight to thousands of fans. Maybe next time organisers should look beyond Nuremberg to fill their roster.”
West, who is legally known as Ye, had been at the centre of controversy since it was announced he would headline the rap and hip-hop music festival in Finsbury Park this summer.
The rapper was advertised to be performing on three nights, from July 10-12, with more acts to be announced.
The Government faced calls to bar him from entering Britain over his previous anti-Semitic behaviour, which included releasing a song called Heil Hitler and selling a swastika T-shirt on his website.
On Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, said: “Kanye West should never have been invited to headline Wireless.
“This Government stands firmly with the Jewish community, and we will not stop in our fight to confront and defeat the poison of anti-Semitism. We will always take the action necessary to protect the public and uphold our values.”
Earlier, in response to mounting calls for his removal from the festival line-up, West said he wanted to come to London and “present a show of change, bringing unity, peace, and love through my music”.
The musician said he “would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the UK in person, to listen”.
However, the Jewish Leadership Council rejected his offer, saying it would not meet West to “help save” the festival.
On Monday, Melvin Benn, the managing director of Festival Republic, the organiser of Wireless, issued a statement claiming the rapper deserved forgiveness for his comments and seemingly blaming West’s mental health for his remarks.
In response, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “This is less about second chances. It is more about the first principles of abhorrence of anti-Semitic statements. As the Health Secretary Wes Streeting said this morning, forgiveness follows repentance and redemption.”
On Tuesday morning, Streeting said: “I cannot for the life of me understand why Wireless still have him as a headliner.
“There are plenty of other talented artists in this country, let alone internationally, who would benefit from the exposure and who, in turn, would help drive ticket sales.
“To provide this kind of platform and opportunity to Kanye West against this backdrop of behaviour, I think, is a very bad error of judgment.”
Streeting added that West’s use of his bipolar disorder to justify “rotten behaviour” was “equally appalling”.
Brands, including Pepsi and Diageo, had withdrawn their sponsorships of Wireless Festival after West was announced as the headliner.
Cancelling the event, Festival Republic said several stakeholders had been consulted in advance of booking West, and no concerns had been highlighted at the time.
In a statement, the company said: “Anti-Semitism in all its forms is abhorrent, and we recognise the real and personal impact these issues have had.
“As Ye said today, he acknowledges that words alone are not enough, and in spite of this still hopes to be given the opportunity to begin a conversation with the Jewish community in the UK.”
Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said it was “deeply regrettable” that Wireless Festival had “doubled down” when the Jewish community and its allies objected.
He said: “Music festivals should be places where all communities feel welcome, not venues that platform individuals with records of profiteering from anti-Semitism, racism, and other repulsive views.”
Rosenberg added that it should never have got to a point where Wireless Festival had to be cancelled.
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said banning West would be a “dangerous path to go down”.
He said West’s “Nazism” was “vile”, but added: “If Keir Starmer were to ban people coming into Britain ... whose views he doesn’t like, almost everybody wouldn’t be allowed in. I think it’s a dangerous path to go down”.
However, a spokesman for Labour Against Anti-Semitism said: “Rejecting a Nazi should be easy – it’s low-hanging fruit.”
He added that the Government’s “failure to act swiftly” had “added to the backlash and conspiracy fantasies against the Jewish community, and once again brought into question the Government’s commitment to ensuring anti-Semitism is not tolerated”.
A spokesman for the Community Security Trust, the charity that provides protection for Jews in Britain, said: “Preventing Ye from performing is a sensible outcome to what has been yet another bruising episode for British Jews.
“Anti-Jewish hatred should have no place in society and cultural leaders have a role to play in ensuring that is the case.
“People who show genuine and meaningful remorse for previous anti-Semitic behaviour will always receive a sympathetic hearing from the Jewish community, but that process must come before this kind of public rehabilitation.”
It is not clear whether West’s ETA to Britain had been granted, but officials said that an ETA was only a light-touch permission to travel and not a decision to grant entry.
An ETA only allows an individual to board a carrier and travel to Britain. Border Force can refuse entry at any stage.
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