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Post by Admin on Jul 26, 2021 20:22:44 GMT
The former Apprentice contestant, who told followers she was going to "take back our freedoms", arrives in London just over 24 hours after most legal COVID restrictions had been dropped in England. Former reality TV contestant Katie Hopkins has arrived back in the UK after being deported from Australia for joking about breaching her hotel quarantine. Touching down at Heathrow overnight, the far-right commentator said "it's nice not to wear a mask again" before stepping into black Mercedes and being driven away. In a now-deleted post on Instagram, which is one of the only social media platforms Hopkins has not been banned from, she wrote: "You may 'deport' the Hopkins. But you cannot silence the truth. The former Apprentice star landed in the UK after all legal COVID-19 restrictions had been dropped in England, with pubs, shops, restaurants, nightclubs and performance venues all allowed to operate at full capacity. She had travelled to Australia - which is on the UK's green travel list - to appear on Big Brother VIP, and caused controversy by boasting about flouting the country's regulations.
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Post by Admin on Jul 26, 2021 20:47:31 GMT
Hopkins flew into Sydney to appear on Seven Network's reality television program Big Brother VIP, according to Australian media. But she stoked public outrage when she posted a video on Instagram joking about answering the door naked and maskless to people delivering meals while she was in hotel quarantine. All arrivals to Australia must complete two weeks in a hotel quarantine, where people must put on a mask before meals are delivered then wait 30 seconds to collect the food to avoid transmission. http://instagram.com/p/CRy6OTAtckA Hopkins' video -- which was later removed -- prompted public anger, as thousands of Australians have been unable to return to the country. For months, Australia has limited the number of citizens it allows in, and foreign nationals are not permitted to enter unless given special dispensation. Amid mounting criticism, Australia's Minister for Home Affairs Karen Andrews ordered a review into the decision to award Hopkins a visa, and on Monday said the government had decided to deport the commentator. http://instagram.com/p/CRt9YDyN5M6 "All visa holders must abide by the health directions issued by our health officials. We won't tolerate those who don't," Andrews told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "We will be getting her out of the country as soon as we can arrange that." The saga is the latest chapter in Hopkins' contentious career that has seen her cause outrage with inflammatory anti-immigrant commentary, even drawing criticism from the United Nations human rights chief. Hopkins was forced to leave several British media outlets in 2017 amid public backlash, and has recently used Instagram to question the seriousness of the pandemic and scale of government responses.
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Post by Admin on Jul 27, 2021 19:52:17 GMT
Why are celebrities allowed into Australia? Australia's film and TV productions have remained operational for much of the pandemic, due to the country's mostly low rates of COVID-19 in the community over the past 18 months. But that relative stability is due in part to incredibly tight restrictions on the number of people allowed to enter the hotel quarantine system at any one time. More than 30,000 Australians are currently registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as wanting to come home, and some have been waiting for months for a chance to travel to Australia. But some high-profile people are allowed in due to the government's belief their work will stimulate the local entertainment industry. Katie Hopkins was allowed to come to Australia after she was invited to be on reality TV show Big Brother VIP. "This does happen from time to time and actually it happens reasonably regularly, that state governments approach the federal government on the basis that there is an economic benefit to some people coming in over the quarantine caps," Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said. "She came in here on the basis of potential benefit to the economy."
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