Former world heavyweight champion boxer Mike Tyson has been forced to cancel appearances in London after discovering he is banned from entering Britain. Under new British immigration law, foreigners who have been sentenced to more than four years in prison cannot enter the country, and that ban is “mandatory.”
He was convicted in 1992 for the rape of a teenage beauty queen, and served three years of a six-year sentence. He also has convictions for assault, cocaine possession and driving under the influence.
Tyson, a convicted rapist, had been scheduled to be in London this week as he continues a promotional tour for his new autobiography Undisputed Truth, which included a photocall with journalists and a book signing.
His publishers Waterstone said recent changes to British immigration laws meant he was unable to travel to the country and has been re-routed to Paris instead.
Tweets posted on 47-year-old Tyson’s official Twitter account as recently as Friday suggest the boxer was unaware he would be hit by the changes.
He wrote: “So, UK fans, who is brave enough to get in the ring and ask me a question?”
And then in subsequent tweets added: “Tweet me a question with #UndisputedTruthBook in it. The 5 best get to step in the ring & ask me it in person” and “Ok, lots of questions there. If you’ve won, @harpercollinsUK will be in touch soon. Thanks everyone for participating.”
A spokesman for HarperCollins said: “There was a change in the UK immigration law in December 2012 of which we were unaware. For this reason Mike had to change location to Paris to salvage his press obligations for the UK.”
Tyson is currently booked in for a British tour for his one-man Broadway show, directed by Spike Lee, which is booked for eight nights in March next year in London, Glasgow and Manchester.
Breitbart Sports contributed to this article
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