SIR Keir Starmer must “cut the head off the snake” and ban Iran’s terror army before they kill someone on the streets of Britain, say MPs.
The PM has promised to proscribe the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the bloodthirsty militia charged with defending the Islamist regime.
ReutersSir Keir Starmer must ‘cut the head off the snake’ and ban Iran’s terror army before they kill someone on the streets of Britain, say MPs[/caption]
GettyThe PM has promised to proscribe the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the bloodthirsty militia charged with defending the Islamist regime[/caption]
But more than a year after the General Election, the IRGC is still free to peddle its hate-filled ideology in the UK.
Labour and Tory politicians urged No10 to pass emergency laws to ban the terror army before they target Jews and Israelis here.
Lord Walney, the Government’s former adviser on political violence and an ex-Labour MP, demanded action.
He said: “Iran will be using its terror apparatchiks in the IRGC to target Brits and Israelis on UK streets after these strikes so the Government should move quickly to proscribe them fully.
“It has long been a fallacy that we could treat the Iranian regime as anything but a clear threat to the UK, so let’s stop trying to play both sides and shut down their terror network properly.”
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman added: “The Government must grow a backbone and ban the IRGC. They fund hate on our streets, and radicalise people against our country and values.
“It’s high time we cut the head off the snake in the UK.”
Jon Pearce, Labour MP and chairman of Labour Friends of Israel, said: “The Iranian regime is a threat to our way of life and peace all over the world. Tehran’s terror army poses a clear and present danger here, too.”
He praised the Government for promising to ban IRGC but said the “heightened threat from Iran and its proxies demands immediate and comprehensive action”.
Mr Pearce added: “Our first duty as a government is to protect the British people and we urge ministers to complete this process as soon as possible.”
Ian Austin, a former Labour MP, said: “Iran has declared war on the West, organising attacks not just on Israel but in Europe and here in the UK.
“This is a medieval dictatorship which exports extremism, organises terrorism, executes its opponents, subjugates women and hangs gay men from cranes.
“The IRGC should have been proscribed years ago and the Government should get on with it immediately.”
Last month, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper vowed to bring in laws to ban state-backed groups such as the IRGC.
She told MPs there had been rising numbers of Iran-linked operations on British soil.
Ms Cooper added: “We have seen malign foreign state organisations seek to exploit any vulnerability from criminal networks, to our cybersecurity, to our borders to do us harm.”
Jonathan Hall, the Government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said laws needed beefing up to ban the IRGC.
Western intelligence agencies have reported a sharp rise in plots by the Iranian regime to kidnap or assassinate political foes living abroad.
A Government spokesman said: “We consistently work closely with policing and community partners to ensure the safety and security of Jewish communities.
“We continue to take strong action to hold the Iranian regime to account, sanctioning more than 450 Iranian individuals and entities.”
GettyIranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei with and Commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
