A far-right Dutch lawmaker who was refused entry to Britain won an appeal against his ban Tuesday, a tribunal spokeswoman said. Geert Wilders, 46, leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), was sent back to the Netherlands on a plane shortly after being detained by immigration officials on arrival at London's Heathrow airport on February 12.
Wilders had been invited to screen "Fitna" - his controversial 17-minute film about Islam in the Netherlands - in the House of Lords, Britain's unelected upper chamber of parliament. Britain's Home Office interior ministry said he was turned back to stop him spreading "hatred and violent messages".
However, he appealed against the British government's refusal to let him enter the country at an asylum and immigration tribunal in London, winning his appeal on Tuesday. "The appeal has been upheld," a tribunal spokeswoman told AFP. A Home Office spokesman said the British government was "disappointed" by the ruling. "We are disappointed by the court's decision today. The government opposes extremism is all its forms," he said.
"The decision to refuse Wilders admission was taken on the basis that his presence could have inflamed tensions between our communities and have led to inter-faith violence. We still maintain this view." The Dutch foreign ministry said in February that it regretted Britain's decision.