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U.K. Border Agency Turns Martha Stewart Away

by Zoe Strimpel
Sun, 22 Jun 2008 at 6:11 PM

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Martha Stewart has been barred from entering the U.K. because of her criminal record, the Sunday Telegraph reports. Tough break: "Martha loves England and hopes this can be resolved and that she will be able to visit soon," her spokesperson was reported as saying in the paper. Indeed, Ms. Stewart was hoping to use her visit to London, scheduled for the next few days, to give a talk at the Royal Academy and to meet with the designer Jasper Conran and other heavy hitters in the lifestyle industry. Was the visit part of a longer-term strategy to expand her empire in the U.K.? If so, we're going to have to wait a bit longer.

The Telegraph quoted a government official saying, "It is a bit silly given some of the other people allowed into the country." The official talked about the goodwill and business her visit would have generated. The U.K. Border Agency said it would not comment on individual cases but said it had a policy against those convicted of serious criminal offences abroad.

This decision smacks of scandal as plenty more people will agree with the official's point about some of the other people who slip through the cracks.

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