Lil Wayne denied UK visa ahead of Strawberries And Creem headline set

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By Chris Cooke | Released on Thursday 16 June 2022

Lil Wayne will no lengthier headline this weekend’s Strawberries And Creem festival in Cambridge soon after the United kingdom Residence Business office turned down his visa application at the previous minute simply because of his previous conviction in the US on gun prices.

Promoters of the pageant claimed in a quick statement yesterday: “Due to extraordinary situation beyond our command or impact, we are extremely sorry to advise you that Lil Wayne is now unable to perform at the competition. Lil Wayne has been refused entry to the United kingdom directly by the House Business office in a past minute final decision. We are deeply unhappy by this sudden and adverse ruling”.

Despite the fact that the House Business doesn’t generally remark on the details of any one particular person visa software, a spokesperson did notify the BBC: “Any specific who has been sentenced to a custodial sentence of twelve months or extra will have to have their software refused”.

Wayne was jailed again in 2010 having plead responsible the past calendar year to the criminal offense of ‘attempted prison possession of a weapon’. That relevant to an incident in 2007 when a police officer searched the rapper’s tour bus and uncovered a .40 calibre handgun.

He initially denied owning the gun but modified his plea in 2009 following the prosecution mentioned they believed they had DNA evidence that could connection him to the weapon and it was verified that proof would be admissible in courtroom in the course of any demo.

The rapper received a 1 yr jail sentence in relation to the gun crime conviction. And even though he only essentially invested 8 months in jail, simply because the sentence was for a person yr he has fallen foul of the Uk Household Office’s regulations.

If only Donald Trump was nonetheless President, probably the US federal government would have intervened and place pressure on British ministers. Soon after all, Wayne was struggling with new fees in the US in relation to the possession of unlawful firearms which, since of the earlier conviction, could have resulted in a 10 12 months jail time period. But as Trump was on his way out of the White Home he formally pardoned the rapper meaning that prosecution did not proceed.

But devoid of Trump on hand to support guarantee Wayne’s entry into the United kingdom, promoters of Strawberries And Creem have as an alternative brought in Ludacris to head up its Saturday line-up.