Far-right Dutch MP enters Britain after entry ban is overturned

Oct 16, 2009, 10:16 GMT

London - Controversial right-wing Dutch MP Geert Wilders arrived in London Friday after winning an appeal against a previous ban by the British Home office.

The 46-year-old, who heads the Dutch Freedom Party, had been invited by Independence Party peer Lord Pearson to visit the House of Lords.

He had been turned away at Heathrow Airport on an earlier scheduled visit in February - but this time was allowed in after Home Secretary Alan Johnson said he was 'not minded' to stop Wilders entering the country.

Wilders was expected to hold a press conference although his controversial film Fitna - which he had originally been invited by Pearson to show - will not be shown.

The film describes the Koran as a book inciting violence against non-Muslims, with scenes showing the attacks on the US World Trade Centre, and Muslim children supporting anti-Semitism.

The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal on Tuesday overturned the entry ban against Wilders, saying there was no evidence that he represented a serious threat to the fundamental interests of society.

The court stated that it was 'more important to allow free speech than to take restrictive action speculatively', the BBC reported.

However, the British government warned that Wilders' behaviour during his scheduled visit could lead to him being turned away in the future.