Australia has cancelled far-right British commentator Katie Hopkins’s visa and will deport her after she boasted about flouting the country’s strict hotel quarantine rules, a senior official said.
Hopkins had flown into Sydney to appear on a reality television show when she posted a video on Instagram talking about answering the door naked and maskless to workers delivering meals to her hotel room.
International arrivals to Australia are required to complete 14 days in mandatory isolation in a hotel, under rules designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said on Monday Australia’s border agency “acted quickly to make sure that the visa on which she entered was cancelled” after the footage appeared.
“We will be getting her out of the country as soon as we can possibly arrange that,” Andrews told public broadcaster ABC.
“She’s clearly not someone that we want to keep in this country for a second longer than we have to.”
Police later on Monday said a 46-year-old woman had been fined AUD $1,000 ($737) for not wearing a face covering, and transferred to the airport for deportation.
Hopkins has long caused controversy by spouting racist, anti-Islamic and anti-migrant views, and regularly speaks out against coronavirus measures such as lockdowns.
Hopkins had been granted a visa with the support of a state government on the basis it would potentially be of economic benefit to the country.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.