Thousands sign petition to block Bannon from entering UK

Thousands of people have signed onto a petition calling on the British government to ban former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon from entering the country.

The petition, which gathered more than 6,000 signatures since being posted Friday, describes Bannon as a “far-right political figure” and says that he “poses a direct risk” to the country’s security.

“He should not be allowed to enter the UK to spread messages of hate,” the petition reads.

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If the petition, which is posted on the official Parliament petition website, gets 10,000 signatures, the government will be required to respond. If it reaches 100,000, it will be put to debate in Parliament.

Bruce Johnston, the activist who started the petition, told Bloomberg that Bannon is “dangerous” because of his support for anti-Muslim movements in the country.

“We need to get to the stage where we protect our democracy,” Johnston said.

Since leaving the White House in August, Bannon has focused much of his efforts on boosting conservative and far-right movements in Europe.

He is a close ally of pro-Brexit politician Nigel Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party, and has expressed support for jailed anti-Muslim activist Tommy Robinson.

Bannon said recently that he plans to set up a political foundation called “The Movement” to support right-leaning nationalist parties across the continent.