Iran's bloodthirsty Revolutionary Guard MUST be banned before someone is killed on UK streets, MPs urge
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.
3
3
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.'
Iran launches missiles at Israel after 'revenge' vow over nuclear site attacks
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.'
3
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
34 minutes ago
- BBC News
At least 10 killed in Israel and 128 in Iran after strikes, authorities say
Israel and Iran launched a new wave of attacks at each other over Saturday night, hitting homes in Israel and dozens of targets in Tehran, officials Israel, 10 people, including two children, were killed and more than 100 injured during a second night of Iranian strikes, according to Israeli authorities. Iranian media, quoting the health ministry, said 128 Iranians had been killed and around 900 injured by Israeli strikes as of midday on and Israel have continued to exchange strikes since Israel launched an attack on Iranian nuclear infrastructure and other targets on Friday. BBC journalists are unable to report from inside Iran due to restrictions by Iran's government, making it difficult to assess the damage caused by Israel's Israel, the latest wave of Iranian strikes hit homes in northern and central Israel. A 10-storey block of flats in Bat Yam was struck in the early hours, killing six people, including a 10-year-old-boy and a eight-year-old girl. Others were trapped underneath rubble. Four people were also killed in Iranian attacks on the northern Arab town of Tamra, according to emergency services and the local live coverageRescue paramedic Ori Lazarovich, who was working at the scene in Bat Yam, told BBC News: "We started triaging people, while the building was still on fire on one side. "Some were crying and some were holding their family members, I saw fear in their eyes.""People came out all grey, covered in soot and ash and debris and suffering from smoke inhalation," he added. A woman who lived in a building next to the blast zone in Bat Yam sat surrounded by suitcases. "We've been here 24 years and now we have to start over. I'm holding myself back from crying," she told the BBC. Visiting the scene of the attack, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran would pay a "very heavy price" for "the premeditated murder of civilians, women and children". Meanwhile in Iran, Tehran's oil ministry said the Shahran oil depot in the capital was hit by Israeli strikes overnight. Israel's military said fighter jets struck more than 80 targets in Tehran overnight, including the Iranian Ministry of Defense and "additional targets where the Iranian regime hid the nuclear archive".The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a warning on social media to the Iranian people, telling them to stay away from all weapons manufacturing in Farsi, IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee said: : "For your own safety, we ask you to evacuate these facilities immediately and not to return until further notice." Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said his country had the right to defend itself from aggression – and that Israel must stop its the Iranian former crown prince Reza Pahlavi - the son of Iran's former Shah who was overthrown in the country's 1979 Islamic revolution - has told the BBC people who oppose the country's government have been "re-energised" by Israel's attacks, which killed senior Iranian military leaders. "The ultimate solution is regime change, and now we have an opportunity because this regime is at its weakest point," he said, speaking from exile on the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show. Additional reporting by Gabriela Pomeroy
Telegraph
35 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Children's Commissioner attacks Musk for letting children view porn on X
Sir Keir Starmer's Children's Commissioner has attacked Elon Musk for allowing children to watch porn on X. Dame Rachel de Souza has called on the billionaire owner of the social media site to 'act like a father' after it was revealed that children are most likely to view pornographic content on X. Speaking in an interview series by anti-porn charity the Naked Truth Project, Dame Rachel attacked the world's richest man, encouraging him to 'think about children'. 'Look, frankly, Elon Musk, who owns X, is a father. Be [and] act like a father. Think about children,' she told the Naked Truth Project's Ian Henderson. 'Children need our protection. I want Apple, I want X, I want all the social media companies where children see these things to take it seriously. They are global companies and they should do better,' Dame Rachel said. The commissioner's 2023 study into young people and pornography revealed that 41 per cent of young people have encountered pornography on Twitter, surpassing dedicated pornography sites (37 per cent), Instagram (33 per cent) and Snapchat (32 per cent). X introduced age verification measures in 2024 but these can easily be bypassed and fail to offer real protection. The commissioner's office is carrying out work to update her study and reflect children's experiences today, to be published later in 2025. 'We want young people to be able to enjoy the internet, enjoy apps, never have to be bored again on a Sunday afternoon or not find something in a good, sensible way,' she said. 'Instead I'm still hearing heinous stories about what children are seeing on there and I find the tech companies absolutely morally culpable. They are not doing what they should.' The Government's online safety act, which followed this newspaper's campaign for a duty of care on firms to protect children, was introduced in October 2023. It requires porn companies to bar under-18s from their sites and tech giants to put in place tough age checks to prevent children accessing such content. But Dame Rachel said that she is not satisfied with social media companies' compliance with the legislation. 'The Online Safety Bill is clear. They should be protecting children,' she said. 'They know how old the children are on their sites. They've got the technology. 'They should have proper, strict age verification. 'They should be answering children's complaints. They should be taking down harmful material. 'And when I ask them why they're not, they often mumble something about resources or say 'we're doing better'. It's just not good enough. These are our children. This is the law in this country and I want to see a robust approach from government.' The Children's Commissioner is also working on the rise of deepfake and ' nudifying' apps, pointing to research that one in four girls has been shown a deepfake image of themselves, a friend or a teacher. She said that 25 per cent of girls that they had spoken to had either seen themself, a friend or a teacher on nudifying apps. 'It spreads like wildfire with the young,' she said. 'Girls are telling me they're as afraid of these apps as they are of walking home on a dark night because they are terrified of seeing themselves shown naked and passed round. 'It's illegal to make pornographic images of children. Boys who are making these images are committing an illegal act. But the apps that enable this aren't illegal yet – and they should be.'
The Guardian
36 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Keir Starmer in diplomatic push to head off Middle East crisis ahead of G7 summit in Canada
Keir Starmer is beginning an urgent diplomatic push to try to head off the crisis in the Middle East, as the Foreign Office warned Britons not to travel to Israel after more retaliatory attacks by Iran. Downing Street did not rule out the possibility of having to evacuate UK nationals from Israel if matters worsened further, saying officials were keeping all contingency plans 'under constant review'. The prime minister was to discuss the continuing clashes between Israel and Iran with the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, in Ottawa before heading to the G7 summit in Kananaskis, in the western province of Alberta. While Starmer's programme for meetings at the summit has yet to be set out, it is likely he will hold bilateral talks with leaders such as President Donald Trump, President Emmanuel Macron of France and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, all of whom Starmer has talked to by phone since the clashes began. 'Our priorities, as we've repeatedly said, is de-escalation,' Starmer's deputy spokesperson told reporters in the Canadian capital, before the prime minister met Carney for talks. On Saturday evening the pair held an informal meeting before watching the Stanley Cup ice hockey final on TV in an Ottawa bar. 'That is what we're concentrating on and encouraging in our discussions with international partners.' Asked what Starmer could do at the G7, he added: 'Clearly, the Middle East will be a topic of discussion, and will be this afternoon in the bilateral with prime minister Carney, but we've been clear throughout that the only route to peace is through diplomacy and through de-escalation.' Earlier on Sunday, the Foreign Office warned Britons against travel to Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories, one of the UK government's most severe warnings in recent memory. The updated guidance warned that insurance policies may be invalidated, describing the crisis as a 'fast-moving situation' posing 'significant risks'. It marks the biggest escalation of UK travel advice since October 2023, when the government urged citizens to avoid all but essential travel after the Hamas attacks of 7 October. Sunday's blanket warning goes further still, reflecting the growing threat to foreign nationals as tensions between Israel and Iran boil over into open confrontation. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, during the flight to Canada, Starmer refused to rule out defending Israel from Iranian strikes launched in response to Israel's attack against Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure, despite Tehran's threat that such an action could lead to British bases in the region being targeted. Speaking earlier to Sky News, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, said that while the UK has sent additional RAF Typhoon jets and refuelling aircraft to the region, this was just a 'precautionary' move. 'It does not mean that we are at war,' she said. Reeves noted the UK has in the past helped intercept missiles heading towards Israel, and said similar defensive action could not be ruled out. 'We have in the past supported Israel when there have been missiles coming in,' she said, adding the government would act to protect British assets and potentially support its allies. Asked if the UK would back Israel if it seemingly wanted to go further than degrading Iran's nuclear capabilities, with strikes intended to push for regime change in Tehran, the No 10 spokesperson said not. 'We have always been clear Israel must abide by international law, but more broadly, as I say, we've always supported Israel's right to self-defence and its right to protect its citizens,' he said. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'Top of our priorities, we've repeatedly said, is de-escalation. That is what we're concentrating on and encouraging in our discussions with international partners.' Israel's ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, said on Sunday that 'Europe owes a huge thank you' for Israel's strike on Iranian nuclear infrastructure. She called the operation an act of self-defence, insisting Iran had rejected diplomatic overtures. 'Our region would have been a place that is not safe for anyone if Iran had accomplished their plan,' she told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Over the weekend, Iranian missiles struck civilian areas of Israel, including the coastal city of Bat Yam, killing at least 13 people. In retaliation, Israel launched strikes deep into Iranian territory, including sites linked to the Revolutionary Guard and the country's South Pars gas field. Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has threatened a 'more decisive and severe' response if Israeli strikes continue. The nation's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, accused Israel of attempting to drag the war into the Persian Gulf, and warned the conflict could spread further if not contained. Araghchi also claimed Israel's actions were designed to sabotage nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington, and alleged they could not have happened 'without the US green light and support'. With oil prices rising and regional instability worsening, governments in the west are facing pressure to both contain the violence and protect critical energy routes.
