Finnish politician convicted of inciting hatred denied entry to UK

Sebastian Tynkkynen, a Finnish member of the European Parliament, said Wednesday he was barred from entering to the UK.

Tynkkynen is the second Finnish politician who has recently been blocked by the UK after Paivi Rasanen, a Finnish lawmaker, who was banned due to her criminal conviction, the Ilta-Sanomat newspaper reported.

Tynkkynen said he received a message a couple of hours before his flight was to depart, saying that "his presence would not serve the public interest."

"I was just banned from entering the UK. Elected politician. Defender of girls and women. Unbelievable," Tynkkynen wrote on US social media company X.

Rasanen, who was charged in March for incitement against a group of people, told the newspaper that his Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) travel permit was initially approved, but days before his scheduled flight from Britain, he was told that he would not be able to enter the country.

In April, the British government blocked controversial American rapper Kanye West's permission to travel to the UK following a row about his planned performance at a music festival.