A right-wing activist from Langley has been denied entry to the United Kingdom for allegedly promoting racism.
Lauren Southern went online to complain that she was held and questioned under U.K. anti-terrorism laws for six hours on Monday.
“I was found guilty of ‘racism’ lol,” Southern wrote about the incident, which occurred when she tried to take the Chunnel crossing from France to the U.K.
“I was stopped at the border” she said in an interview posted to YouTube.
Southern said she was handed a form that said she was being brought in for questioning “under the terrorism act” and then “things got really weird.”
Southern said she was asked if she wanted to run cars into people and how she felt “about right-wing terrorism.”
“It’s a bizarre experience” Southern said.
“I’m pretty sure I’ve never committed terrorism or wanted to commit terrorism in my life.”
For people curious, yes I was held under Schedule 7. pic.twitter.com/FWh6n7vElh
— Lauren Southern (@Lauren_Southern) March 12, 2018
— Lauren Southern (@Lauren_Southern) March 12, 2018
An image of a “notice of refusal of leave to enter” posted on social media said “Lauren Cherie Southern” was being denied entry because she was “involved in the distribution of racist material in Luton … (and her) actions whilst in the United Kingdom present a threat to the fundamental interests of society and to the public policy of the United Kingdom.”
Another social media post suggested the incident in Luton involved Southern setting up a stall with placards saying “Allah is a gay god.”
The Reuters News Agency quoted an anonymous “British security official” saying Southern and two other far-right activists were denied entry because their “presence in the UK was not conducive to the public good”.
Southern ran as a libertarian candidate for Langley-Aldergrove against Langley Conservative Mp Mark Warawa in the 2015 federal election
She was suspended, then reinstated as the party’s Langley candidate over her public comments on a “Slut Walk” anti-rape protest in Vancouver.
She finished last of five candidates with 560 votes or 0.9 pet cent of those who cast ballots.
READ MORE: Libertarians nominate Lauren Southern for Langley-Aldergrove
Her election profile said that Southern was born and raised in Surrey and was living Langley, and was studying political sciences at the University of the Fraser Valley.
“Lauren became an advocate of Libertarian values when she began discovering the works of Libertarian philosophers at a young age. She adopted the belief that the government does not know how to spend an individual’s money better than they do. Nor should the government have the right to instruct people on how to live their lives when their way of life is causing no harm to those around them.”
“Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem,” Southern said.
dan.ferguson@langleytimes.com
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