Anti-Islam influencer who burned the Quran is banned from getting into Britain after being invited to talk at Tommy Robinson rally

An anti-Islam influencer who burned the Quran has been blocked from entering the UK by the Home Secretary. 

Valentina Gomez was due to speak at the Unite the Kingdom rally next month organised by Tommy Robinson, and had been given permission to enter via a UK electronic travel authorisation (ETA).

But after a backlash from MPs and campaign groups, Shabana Mahmood has intervened because her presence would not be conducive to the public good. 

Ms Mahmood used the same justification for blocking rapper Kanye West from entering earlier this month. The rapper had made a string of anti-Semitic comments and expressed admiration for Hitler. 

Ms Gomez was excluded from the UK on the grounds that the democratic right to expression does not extend to promoting hatred and extremism, it understood.

The Home Secretary has the power to cancel a person’s permission to enter or stay in the UK.

US-based Ms Gomez ran in the GOP primary for Texas’ 31st congressional District on a MAGA ticket, although she was not endorsed by Donald Trump. 

Valentina Gomez – who filmed herself burning a Koran – was due to speak at the Unite the Kingdom rally next month 

During her campaign she vowed to rid Texas of Islam and burned a copy of the Koran with a flamethrower. 

Sharing the video on her social media, she said: ‘America is a Christian nation, so those terrorist Muslims can *** to any of the 57 Muslim nations. There is only one true God, and that is the God of Israel.’

She had previously barged on stage during a Muslim event at the Texas Capitol before describing Islamic as a ‘religion of rape, incest, and pedophilia, where they bow down to a stupid rock, and a false prophet.’ 

Another stunt saw her setting two pro-LGBTQ books and sharing the footage on X. 

‘When I’m Secretary of State, I will BURN all books that are grooming, indoctrinating, and sexualizing our children. MAGA. America First,’ she wrote alongside the video.

Welcoming Ms Mahmood’s decision to ban her from Britain, the Muslim Council of Britain said: ‘People who propagate hate speech and division should not be given free entry to the United Kingdom.

‘This decision is the right course of action by the UK government and this should be a precedent for others who chose to promote disinformation and hatred.’

Last week, Homelessness charity Centrepoint said it had cut ties with Sharon Osbourne after she expressed support for the Unite the Kingdom rally on May 16.

Its previous protest in September, which Ms Gomez is said to have spoken at, was attended by between 110,000 and 150,000 people. 

Ms Gomez was excluded from the UK on the grounds that the democratic right to expression does not extend to promoting hatred and extremism, it understood

Iman Atta OBE, director of Tell MAMA, said: ‘This is a welcome decision and it was a matter of time before the Home Secretary banned Ms Gomez because of her inflammatory anti-Muslim rhetoric. 

‘Ms Gomez was always going to get blocked and banned and it was a matter of time because of her inflammatory actions’.

Earlier this year, prosecutors failed to overturn the acquittal of a man who burned a copy of the Koran outside London’s Turkish embassy.

Hamit Coskun was initially convicted last June of religiously aggravated public order after holding a flaming copy of the Islamic text aloft and shouting ‘f*** Islam’ on February 13, 2025.

The 51-year-old successfully appealed against the conviction, which was overturned by Mr Justice Bennathan at Southwark Crown Court last October.

And the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) High Court appeal against this decision has been dismissed by Lord Justice Warby and Ms Justice Obi.

‘We are not persuaded that the court left any material factor out of account or relied on any immaterial factor,’ the judges said in their ruling.

Following the decision, Mr Coskun said: ‘In England, I hoped that I would be free to speak about the damage of sectarian politics and Islamism.

‘I am relieved that after a year, the courts have ruled that I am free to do so.’