The controversial British writer David Irving has had his hotel reservation cancelled at the Mercure hotel in The Hague where he was to give a lecture on Thursday.

The hotel told him he was not welcome after consultation with The Hague council.

Irving, a notorious Holocaust denier, was to give a lecture entitled Hitler, Himmler and the Homosexuals.

Among those protesting at Irving’s visit was the Dutch Israeli information centre CIDI which pointed out that he would be here on the day the Netherlands is commemorating the February strike of 1941.

75 years

It is 75 years ago on Thursday that workers in Amsterdam and the surrounding areas went on strike in a protest against what was to be the beginning of the large-scale persecution of Jews in the Netherlands.

It is not known if Irving will give his speech elsewhere. The council says it cannot prevent him coming to The Hague, but only encourage venues not to give him a platform.