Downing Street has said “all options remain on the table” as Kanye West’s permission to enter Britain is reviewed ahead of his planned performances at a London festival.
No 10 said decisions would be taken on a “case-by-case basis, in line with the law” amid a backlash over the rapper’s past antisemitic comments.
The Government is facing calls to ban him from entering the UK over behaviour which has included releasing a song called Heil Hitler and advertising a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website, ahead of three planned performances at Wireless Festival in July.
Asked to clarify West’s visa status, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We’ve been clear that his permission to enter the UK is under review as we speak.
“All available options remain on the table.”
He added: “Decisions are taken on a case-by-case basis in line with the law and the evidence available, but where individuals pose a threat to public safety or seek to spread extremism, the Government has not hesitated to act, and that includes cancelling permission to enter this country for extremist preachers and far-right figures.”
It comes after Melvin Benn, managing director at Festival Republic, which promotes Wireless Festival, confirmed West already had a visa to enter the UK for the gigs, adding it was “issued in the last few days”.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Benn said: “He has a visa already issued to appear, to come into the country, and the Home Secretary may well rescind that today, I don’t know.
“If she does, she does, and then the issue is over in terms of his appearance.”
On Tuesday, West offered to meet with the British Jewish community ahead of Wireless Festival.
He said in a statement: “I’ve been following the conversation around Wireless and want to address it directly.
“My only goal is to come to London and present a show of change, bringing unity, peace, and love through my music.
“I would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the UK in person, to listen.
“I know words aren’t enough – I’ll have to show change through my actions.
“If you’re open, I’m here.”
Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said the group would be willing to meet with West if he pulled out of Wireless.
Mr Rosenberg said: “It has been less than a year since Kanye West released a song entitled Heil Hitler, the culmination of three years of appalling antisemitism.
“He also made a number of deeply offensive comments about the black community, saying that the 400-year experience of slavery was ‘like a choice’.
“Even while claiming remorse today, his latest album includes a track first released last year with the abhorrent title Gas Chamber.”
He continued: “The Jewish community will want to see a genuine remorse and change before believing that the appropriate place to test this sincerity is on the main stage at the Wireless Festival.
“As such, we are willing to meet Kanye West as part of his journey of healing, but only after he agrees not to play the Wireless Festival for this year.”
The currently available version of West’s latest album Bully, released last month, does not feature a song called Gas Chamber, but the song All The Love, which features CeeLo Green, was reportedly titled Gas Chambers prior to its release.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said it would not meet with West and added that it would protest at Wireless if his planned performances go ahead as “nobody knows what might come out of Mr West’s mouth on that stage”.
A statement from the CAA read: “If the appearances go ahead, we will be organising a mass demonstration outside the festival, whose organisers should be ashamed of themselves.”
The CAA went on to say that if West cancelled his performances then “it will be a sign that he may be genuine in his remorse”.
Mr Benn defended the decision to put West on the bill, describing himself as a “deeply committed anti-fascist” and “person of forgiveness”.
In a statement, Mr Benn added: “We are not giving him a platform to extol opinion of whatever nature, only to perform the songs that are currently played on the radio stations in our country and the streaming platforms in our country and listened to and enjoyed by millions.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called the decision to have West headline the three nights “deeply concerning”, while major sponsors have withdrawn their support for the festival because of the booking.
Pepsi, Rockstar Energy and Diageo withdrew their sponsorship of the festival after West was announced as the headline act, and no brands appeared as visible sponsors on Wireless Festival’s official website on Monday evening.
Additionally PayPal, which is a payment partner for the annual rap and hip-hop festival, will not appear in any of its future promotional materials, the Press Association understands.
Presale tickets for the concert went on sale at 12pm on Tuesday, ahead of a general sale on Wednesday.
It is understood that the Mayor of London’s office refused permission for the London Stadium in Stratford to stage a Kanye West concert this summer, with sources citing community concerns and the reputational impact on the city.
In January, West took out a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal to apologise, titled: “To Those I’ve Hurt.”
“I am not a Nazi or an antisemite,” it said.
“I love Jewish people.”
In his letter, he said his bipolar disorder led him to fall into “a four-month-long, manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour that destroyed my life”.
