‘I’m very pleased she’ll be leaving’: Australian government cancels Katie Hopkins’ visa

The federal government has cancelled the visa of far-right British commentator Katie Hopkins.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews says Ms Hopkins will be kicked out of the country as soon as possible.



Hopkins criticises Australia's response to COVID-19, saying lockdowns are the greatest hoaxes in history.

Ms Hopkins was dumped from an upcoming series of Channel Seven’s Big Brother on Sunday, a day after boasting about flouting infection controls while in hotel quarantine in Sydney.

The provocative post came as 12 million Australians were locked down in NSW and Victoria.
“It is despicable that anyone would behave in such a way that puts our health officials and community at risk,” Ms Andrews said in a statement.

“There is no place in Australia for visa holders who would deliberately endanger others. Entry to Australia brings responsibilities and the community rightly expects better. Those who don’t live up to the standards can expect to have their visas cancelled and to be removed.”

Speaking on ABC News Breakfast, Ms Andrews added that the flaunting of quarantine breaches was a “slap in the face for all those Australians who are currently in lockdown”.

“Personally, I’m very pleased she’ll be leaving,” the Home Affairs Minister said.
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“We will be getting her out of the country as soon as we can possibly arrange that. So I’m hopeful that it will happen imminently.”

“Personally, I’m very pleased she’ll be leaving,” Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said.CREDIT:ALEX ELLINGHAUSEN

Ms Hopkins has previously called for a “final solution” (a reference to the Nazi policy of murdering Jews) and labelled migrants “cockroaches”. Asked why she was given a visa in the first place over an Australian trying to return home, Ms Andrews said the far-right commentator was allowed in under “established processes and procedures” given she was due to film a TV show.

“So she came in here on the basis of potential benefit to the economy,” the Home Affairs Minister said. “[But] she’s clearly not someone that we want to keep in this country for a second longer than we have to.”

Ms Hopkins told her 261,000 Instagram followers she had opened her door to guards naked and not wearing a mask to “call out” Australia’s quarantine system and lockdowns.

“What I want is the sergeant in the foyer to come up and tell me off so that I can stand there naked while he tells me off,” she said.

She said it was her way of “calling out” lockdowns, which she described as being the “greatest hoax in human history”.

On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce on the ABC’s Insiders told Ms Hopkins to “pack your bongo and get out”.

Health Minister Greg Hunt described the boast as “dangerous, irresponsible and apparently deliberate”.

Amid a growing political storm, Channel Seven issued a statement saying Ms Hopkins was not part of Big Brother VIP.

“Seven and Endemol Shine strongly condemn her irresponsible and reckless comments in hotel quarantine.”

Ms Hopkins hosted a national talkback show on British radio station LBC but left in 2017 after posting on Twitter there should be a “final solution” in the aftermath of the Manchester terrorist attack.

She was permanently banned from Twitter last year for what the company described as “violations of our hateful conduct policy”, and was detained in South Africa in 2018 for allegedly spreading racial hatred.

But she has found a home on Australian television screens, having appeared on Sky News’ Outsiders program six times last year and this year.

The right-wing commentator’s arrival came as American celebrity Caitlyn Jenner also landed in Sydney this week to appear on Big Brother, according to celebrity news website TMZ. Big Brother contestants have received a travel exemption from the NSW state government, which is accepting them above the existing quarantine cap.


To date, Australian border officials have removed seven non-citizens found to have breached COVID-19 health directions.

At least 35,000 Australians remain stranded overseas and passenger caps for those returning have been halved to about 3000 a week.

With Bianca Hall, Jennifer Duke, Zoe Samios

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