The UK Home Office confirmed on Wednesday that head of the Islamic Movement’s northern branch, Raed Salah, was been detained by the UK Border Agency and is set to be deported.
The Islamist leader was set to address an event in the UK Parliament on Wednesday, organized by Labor party MPs, and pro-Palestinian activists Jeremy Corbyn and Richard Burden together with the anti-Israel fringe group Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
UK Home Office Minister Theresa May said that arrangements were now being made to deport Salah from the UK.
"We do not normally comment on individual cases but in this case I think it is important to do so. Salah’s presence in the UK has caused controversy. The Home Office had excluded him for his anti-Semitic views yet he was able to enter the country on Saturday unchallenged.
"I can confirm he was excluded and that he managed to enter the UK. He has now been detained and the UK Border Agency is now making arrangements to remove him," May said.
"A full investigation is now taking place into how he was able to enter."
According to the Islamic Movement, Salah was arrested close to midnight overnight Tuesday in London after returning from a lecture in Leicester. He was reportedly scheduled to speak to the British Parliament later in the visit, an appearance scheduled at the invitation of an MP.
Lawyers said that Salah was faced with two options: to stand trial, or face immediate deportation, Channel 10 reported.
In April, Salah, was detained for interrogation on suspicion that he attacked police officers and obstructed their duties at the Allenby Bridge, connecting the West Bank to Jordan.
Late last year, the Islamic Movement leader was released from prison in Ramle after serving a five-month sentence.
Salah had been convicted of assaulting and spitting on a police officer who was providing security at a demonstration sponsored by the Sheikh in 2007.
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