Written question asked by Baroness Neville-Jones (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord West of Spithead (Labour) on Wednesday, 3 June 2009.

Geert Wilders

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what basis the Home Office refused Geert Wilders’ entry into the United Kingdom in February in the light of the department's press release of 5 May which stated that "excluding European nationals and their family members is expected to take effect from 1 June 2009 … [if they present] a threat to public policy or public security".

Answer: Mr Wilders was refused admission to the UK under European Union law, whereby a member state of the European Economic Area (EEA) may refuse entry to a national of another EEA state if this is justified on grounds of public policy, public security or public health and where the personal conduct of the individual represents a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society. The immigration officer took into account the Home Secretary's views and concluded that there was a significant risk that Mr Wilders’ presence in the UK would threaten community harmony and therefore public security by fostering hate which might lead to inter-community violence within the UK.

Secondary information