​Tom Tugendhat announces crackdown on hate preachers and extremists from entering UK: 'A visa is a privilege!'

In discussion with Martin Daubney, Tugendhat says he has been "working hard" with the Foreign Office to make sure that the authorities "know exactly who is trying to come here and why".

He added that the ban "is something the government should be doing", and hailed the plans for the ban.

Tugendhat stated: "A visa is a privilege. It's not a right. You have no right to come here if you're a foreigner.

"You're only allowed here if what you are doing here is to the advantage of the British people more widely."

The minister said people are encouraged to come to the UK to "visit family, to visit friends, and to work".

He told GB News: "We love that. That's great. But it's not spread hate, not to divide us."

Martin then asked Tugendhat how the Government would "forcibly remove" those who have "slipped through the net", including those who have "arrived on a dinghy and we have no idea who they are".

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Tugendhat responded: "Anybody who's here on a visa, we can take it away. This is something we've already been doing since those protests started in October. Look at what we've already done on some of those student visas.

"If you come here to study, fantastic, you're very welcome, come and learn, come and study. What do you need to do? Take those skills home, develop a growing career for yourself. That's wonderful. Our universities are here to help."

Tugendhat stated: "If you come here claiming you want to study, but you then start spreading hatred, you then decide that you want to divide communities, Jewish communities from Muslim communities in our country, I'm afraid that's not what your visa's for.

"Let's be clear. If that's what you want to do, go find somewhere else to do it. We've already taken visas away from some students who've been here to study, and have decided that that's not what they actually thought, what they actually wanted to do. Instead, they wanted to join these protests and spread anti-Jewish hatred. Well, we're not having that, and we've taken their visas away."

Defending the government's efforts to crackdown on illegal migration, Tugendhat said: "Let me be clear, this is not something we do lightly.

"It's not something we want to do - what we want to do is we want to welcome people to study, to see family, to enjoy being in the United Kingdom.

"But if you don't want to live up to our rules, okay, well then you're going to lose your visa. Your visa is a privilege, not a right."