UK minister urged to ban 'pick-up artist' Julien Blanc Julien Blanc The British government is being urged to refuse entry to a US "pick-up artist" who was forced to cut short a visit to Australia following widespread protests over his suggested seduction tactics that included choking women. A petition accusing Julien Blanc of violent misogyny has garnered more than 120,000 signatures in Britain. The outcry over his planned visit to Britain has built pressure on interior minister Theresa May, who has the power to refuse visas for people considered "not conducive to the public good." Blanc was earlier this month forced to cut short a visit to Australia where his visa was revoked following widespread protests and there are similar calls for him to be banned from Canada. "I am extremely concerned by the sexist and utterly abhorrent statements Julien Blanc has made about women," Lynne Featherstone, a junior British Home Office minister, said in an interview with The Guardian newspaper published on Saturday. "If he was allowed to perform in the UK I have no doubt that cases of sexual harassment and intimidation would increase," said the minister, whose remit includes tackling violence against women. Referring to Blanc's most notorious suggested technique, Featherstone said: "It is not appropriate to talk about choking girls under any circumstances." Yvette Cooper, shadow home secretary from the opposition Labour party, also wrote to May, urging her to "send a clear message from Britain about zero tolerance of violence against women and girls." Blanc, an "executive coach" for the company Real Social Dynamics, is due in Britain on November 21 as part of a world tour. The company website said he attended "a prestigious university in Switzerland" before moving to Los Angeles. A petition on change.org calling for Britain to deny Blanc a visa had 122,000 signatures by Saturday. It said that allowing him into the country "legitimises sexual assault and predation."