Martha Stewart denied visa to travel to Britain

[Joanne98]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Celebrity homemaker Martha Stewart has been denied entry to Britain because of her 2004 U.S. conviction for lying about a stock sale.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc, the company founded by Stewart, said the 66-year-old businesswoman had been planning to travel to Britain for business meetings.

"She has engagements with English companies and business leaders and hopes this can be resolved so that she will be able to visit soon," Charles Koppelman, chairman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, said in a statement.

A spokesman for Britain's Home Office, which runs the UK Border Agency, said it does not comment on individual cases.

"We continue to oppose the entry to the UK of individuals where we believe their presence in the United Kingdom is not conducive to the public good or where they have been found guilty of serious criminal offenses abroad," he said.

Stewart was found guilty of conspiracy, making false statements and obstruction of agency proceedings -- all stemming from her sale of stock in biotech company ImClone Systems Inc. on December 27, 2001. She was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of house arrest.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN2019168220080620

[Donnachaidh]

1. why should she have it any different than any other felon?

Seriously - she DID serve time. :shrug:

[sandrakae]

2. Double Standard. They let Mike Tyson in.

Im not a Martha Stewart fan, but if I remember correctly, they didn't have any trouble allowing Mike Tyson in for a fight after he was released from prison for rape.

[zeemike]

3. I guess they are still trying to punish her

If she would only convert to Rethuglican all would be forgiven.
Hang in there Martha we still ,Love ya.

[pretzel4gore]

4. mr pig did this to John (Lennon) too...

every day should be Easter to mr pig (bacon for breakfast, roast ham for lunch, porkchops for supper and ...every tried pigfeet?
puttem to work, feeding the hungry...lol

[anigbrowl]

5. This is silly - pointless grandstanding

I'm not sure she even needs a visa, technically speaking. The US has a visa waiver agreement with most European countries for visits of up to 3 months. Maybe a past felony makes one ineligible, I'm too lazy to consult the rules. I don't think these considerations should apply once someone has completed probation.

[ima_sinnic]

6. gee, and they let * in, no problem--definitely "not conducive to the public good" (nt)

[KoKo]

7. Martha is a "TERRAIST!" She's a CRIMINAL...HER CRIMES ARE WORSE than ANYONE...

STONE HER! STONE HER! and there's no Sexism... Yeah...give me a break...

[Bluzmann57]

8. She got convicted of a crime

So why wouldn't she be denied a visa? If I was a convicted felon, I imagine I'd be denied a visa as well.

[provis99]

9. well why did they let Bush in? He's got criminal convictions of his own

Two of them for drunken driving. Nice to see that British immigration is full of pompous self-righteous right-wing assholes like Homeland Security is.

I think it also might be payback for the rash of British actors and musicians who were deported immediately after 2001 from the US. I'm still pissed that the excellent English actor Steven Berkoff was deported for overstaying his visa by one day because his plane was delayed.

[Cleita]

10. My thoughts exactly. n/t

[ladjf]

11. Ridiculous.

[soothsayer]

12. She sure has ticked off the old boy network. Time to break out my 'Free Martha' t-shirt