Wireless Festival has been cancelled after Kanye West was blocked from travelling to the UK to headline it.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood banned the rapper from entering Britain to perform at the festival in July on the grounds his presence would ‘not be conducive to the public good’.

Sir Keir Starmer insisted he ‘should never have been invited to headline Wireless’ and said he ‘stands firmly with the Jewish community’ against anti-Semitism.

Calls had been growing for West to be removed from the line-up after a string of anti-Semitic outbursts, including releasing a song called Heil Hitler and posing in a swastika T-shirt.

But Nigel Farage today spoke out against calls to bar him from Britain, calling it a ‘slippery slope’.

He said: ‘I know he said some dreadful things. If people thought he was genuinely going to come into Britain and urge attacks on the Jewish community, then there would be full grounds for stopping it. If it’s just saying things we find objectionable that I think bans are a slippery slope.’

Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney also backed West to perform, saying ‘we live in a free country’ and we should ‘let people enjoy the music they want to listen to’.

The 48-year-old applied for an Electronic Travel Authorisation yesterday, but he was denied entry to the UK. As a result, organisers have cancelled the entire event, saying refunds would be issued to all ticketholders.

‘As with every Wireless Festival, multiple stakeholders were consulted in advance of booking YE and no concerns were highlighted at the time,’ a spokesman said.

‘Antisemitism 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.’

West had said he wanted to show ‘change through his actions’ and meet with Jews in London ahead of the performance in Finsbury Park – which would have been his first in the UK in 11 years.

He joins the likes of Eva Vlaardingerbroek – a Dutch anti-immigration influencer who promoted the ‘great replacement’ theory – in being refused permission to travel to the UK.

Pre-sale for Wireless Festival went live at midday today and general sale tickets were due out tomorrow. No other acts had been confirmed.

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Kanye West has been barred from the UK on the grounds his presence is ‘not conducive to the public good’

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West in a previous social media post wearing a sweatshirt bearing a swastika

Sir Keir said this afternoon: ‘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 antisemitism. We will always take the action necessary to protect the public and uphold our values.’

This morning, Melvin Benn, managing director at Festival Republic, which promotes Wireless Festival, insisted West deserved forgiveness and appeared to blame the musician’s mental health for his anti-Semitic comments.

‘Ye’s music is played on commercial radio stations in this country,’ he said – referring to West by the name he now goes by.

‘It is available via live streams and downloads in this country without comment or vitriol from anyone and he has a legal right to come into the country and to perform in this country. He is intended to come in and perform.

‘We are not giving him a platform to extol opinion of whatever nature, only to perform the songs that are currently played on the radio stations in our country and the streaming platforms in our country and listened to and enjoyed by millions.’

In response, Sir Keir’s spokesman said: ‘This is less about second chances. It is more about first principles of abhorrence of anti-Semitic statements.’

The Campaign Against Antisemitism welcomed the decision to block West from entering Britain.

‘The Government has clearly made the right decision here – for once, when it said that antisemitism has no place in the UK, it backed up its words with action,’ a spokesman said.

‘Someone who has boasted of making tens of millions of dollars from selling swastika T-shirts and who released a song called “Heil Hitler” just months ago clearly would not be conducive to the public good in the UK.’

Karen Pollock, CEO of the Holocaust Educational Trust, also supported the Government’s move and accused West’s defenders of double standards.

‘No other community would be told to “forgive” or “talk” – the disgusting racism would be recognised for what it is,’ she said.

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Wireless Festival organiser Melvin Benn had called for West to be ‘forgiven’ for spouting hatred against Jews

West had been set to top the bill for all three nights of Wireless Festival.

Responding to the backlash, the rapper vowed to bring ‘unity, peace, and love’ through his music.

He wrote on social media: ‘I’ve been following the conversation around Wireless and want to address it directly. My only goal is to come to London and present a show of change, bringing unity, peace, and love through my music.

‘I would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the UK in person, to listen. I know words aren’t enough – I’ll have to show change through my actions. If you’re open, I’m here.’

West had previously attributed his discriminatory comments to a head injury sustained in a car crash 25 years ago.

He previously made an apology to the Jewish community in 2023 in a social media statement posted in Hebrew.

But he then went on to sell swastika T-shirts on his website in February 2025.

Sponsors like Pepsi and Diageo had already withdrawn their support for Wireless Festival after West was announced as the headline act.

Rockstar Energy also pulled its sponsorship, according to reports, while PayPal will not appear in any of the event’s future promotional materials.

Behaviour deemed not conducive to the public good can include engaging in ‘extremism’ or acting in a way that is likely to ‘incite public disorder’.

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Crowds at Wireless last year. West had been due to headline all three days of the festival

A person does not need to have a criminal conviction to be barred, according to Home Office guidance.

Speaking earlier today, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he did not believe West should be allowed into the UK.

‘No I do not think he should be headlining the Wireless Festival,’ he told GB News.

‘I think his comments were absolutely grotesque and whatever justification he uses, he has got to accept that with his enormous fame and reach comes influence and a responsibility, and his comments take place against a backdrop of rising antisemitism, rising hatred against Jewish people, not just around the world but in this country.

‘Using bipolar disorder to justify his actions is appalling.’

Chris Philp MP, Shadow Home Secretary, said: ‘It is welcome the Government has followed our calls to block Kanye West coming to the UK.

‘If the Labour Government is going to deny visas to antisemites, it must apply the same standards consistently. The Government should now commit to refusing entry visas to extremists such as hate preachers.

‘We must stop those expressing extremist views getting into Britain, and those already here who are not British citizens should be deported.’