Labour MPs have called on Sir Keir Starmer to take action against charities they claim form part of an Iranian influence operation in Britain.
The group of parliamentarians raised concerns about several organisations they believe are promoting the Iranian regime’s agenda on British soil.
Their demands were outlined in a letter to security minister Dan Jarvis.
The MPs argue that proscribing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is a vital step to curb Tehran’s ability to repress and kill protesters in Iran.
Their letter names a number of charities allegedly linked to Iranian state influence and criticises an “inadequate” response from the Charity Commission.
Among those identified is the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), which describes itself as a campaigning and research body pursuing justice worldwide.
Founded in 1997, the IHRC has special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council and has been under statutory inquiry by the Charity Commission since last October.
Sir William Shawcross’s 2023 independent review of the Prevent counter-terrorism programme was sharply critical of the IHRC.
Labour MPs have urged Keir Starmer to take action against charities they claim form part of an Iranian influence operation
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He described it as an “Islamist group ideologically aligned with the Iranian regime, that has a history of extremist links and terrorist sympathies”.
The report reads: “Several senior figures within IHRC have espoused support for violent jihad, expressed sympathy for convicted terrorists, and advocated for the extraction and eradication of ‘Zionists’.
“Campaigns have supported high-profile associates of a number of terrorist or extremist groups such as al-Qaeda and the Taliban.”
The Islamic Centre of England, based in Maida Vale, London, was also highlighted in the letter.
The MPs argue that proscribing the IRGC is a vital step to curb Tehran’s ability to repress and kill protesters
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GETTYThe centre has been under Charity Commission investigation since 2022 over claims it operates as an extension of the Iranian state.
Scrutiny intensified in January 2020 after it hosted a candlelit memorial for IRGC General Qassim Soleimani, killed in a US drone strike, where attendees described him as a “dedicated soldier of Islam” and a “great martyr”.
The regulator later issued a formal warning over that event and another gathering praising the deceased Islamic Republic general.
In October 2022, the centre’s director, Seyed Hashem Moosavi, described Iranian anti-regime protesters as “enemies” and “soldiers of Satan”, and said women who refused to wear the hijab were spreading “poison”.
The Islamic Centre of England, based in Maida Vale, London, was also highlighted in the letter
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PAA full statutory inquiry was launched the following month, which could ultimately see the centre stripped of its charitable status.
David Taylor, Labour MP for Hemel Hempstead and a signatory to the letter, said: “I am keen for the Government to move forward with proscribing the IRGC with even more urgency given current events.”
“I would also like to see action by the Government on all the other ways Iran is trying to destabilise the UK, with groups like the IHRC. I am confident that fellow Labour MPs and most MPs in the House of Commons would agree that this is urgent.”
The MPs have also called for Britain to slap financial sanctions on Press TV, Iran’s state broadcaster, noting that the US, Canada, Australia and the European Union have already imposed sanctions.
Sir Keir said the Islamic Republic poses a ‘direct threat’ to dissidents and Jewish communities in Britain
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Speaking in Downing Street on Saturday, Sir Keir said the Islamic Republic poses a “direct threat” to dissidents and Jewish communities in Britain.
“Over the last year alone, they have backed more than 20 potentially lethal attacks on UK soil,” he said.
An IHRC spokesman said: “William Shawcross’s ‘review’ of Prevent has been thoroughly debunked as a piece of Islamophobic propaganda. It is more fitting for MPs in this country and the fourth estate to challenge entrenched and institutionalised racism rather than regurgitating it.”
A spokesman for the Islamic Centre of England said it operates independently and is not an “official office or representative body of any government, political entity, or individual”.
He added: “The centre does not represent, promote, or advocate for the political views or agendas of any state, figure or regime. Its religious guidance is confined to matters of faith, ethics, and spirituality. The centre promotes religious peace, and harmony between different faiths.”