Oxford Union president vows to platform Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur in defiance of UK ban

Oxford Union president vows to platform Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur in defiance of UK ban Submitted by Imran Mulla on Tue, 06/02/2026 - 11:00 'Free speech does not require a visa', said Arwa Elrayess, the Palestinian president of the prestigious student debating society Hasan Piker, a streamer and outspoken critic of Israel, addresses the Oxford Union in 2025 (Screengrab/X) Off The Oxford Union, former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan once proclaimed, is "the last bastion of free speech in the western world. " That dramatic assertion has often been questioned, but today Macmillan's quote is proudly displayed outside the prestigious debating society's bar. The president of the Oxford Union this term, Arwa Elrayess, appears determined to live up to the claim.