LONDON (Reuters) - The British government won a legal battle Tuesday to bar entry to U.S. black activist Louis Farrakhan, whom it fears could stir up racial tension.
The 68-year-old leader of the Chicago-based Nation of Islam was banned from Britain in 1986 because the government said he expressed views that were racist and anti-Semitic.
Successive Home Secretaries (interior ministers) have refused him permission to enter but last year lawyers for Farrakhan challenged the ban in the High Court, saying he had "moved on" and was regarded in America as a significant spokesperson for the black community.
They claimed the ban was "an unlawful and disproportionate interference" with Farrakhan's right to communicate freely with his followers in Britain and was contrary to the Human Rights Act.
High Court judge Mr. Justice Turner overturned the ban -- prompting the government to ask the Appeal Court to overrule him.
Tuesday, three Appeal Court judges headed by Master of the Rolls, Lord Phillips, ruled that the ban should be upheld, saying Home Secretary David Blunkett's decision to bar Farrakhan was based on a proper assessment of the risks.
"His decision struck a proportionate balance between (preventing tensions) and freedom of expression," Lord Phillips said.
The government's appeal success came a week after far right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen celebrated his shock move into the second round of the French presidential elections, sparking fears of a surge in support for anti-immigrant parties across Europe.
There are also concerns in Britain that the extreme right British National Party (BNP) could do well in Thursday's local elections, particularly in the north of England, where racial tensions remain high following riots at the end of last year.
Speaking after Tuesday's ruling, Chairman of the Holocaust Educational Trust, Lord Janner, said: "I am delighted that the law has acted justly, realizing the damage that Farrakhan could have done to Britain."
"The BNP (the far right British National Party) do not need encouragement from the likes of Farrakhan."
Leave for Farrakhan to appeal to the House of Lords was refused but it is still open to him to apply direct to the Law Lords for permission to challenge Tuesday's ruling.