Government to table legislation 'banning state-run groups' like IRGC 'within weeks'
It comes as four people appeared in court over arson attack on four Jewish community ambulances that took place earlier this month.
The government could table legislation banning state-backed organisations such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the UK 'within weeks', Sir Keir Starmer announced, as he met with the Jewish community in north London.
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Revealing government plans that could see the IRGC labelled a terrorist organisation, the legislation could be tabled by Labour in a matter of weeks, the Prime Minister revealed.
The announcement coincided with the Prime Minister's visit to Kenton United Synagogue in north London on Thursday - a location that found itself targeted as part of a series of arson attacks across the UK last week.
It follows growing pressure to proscribe the organisation and marks a major u-turn for the government.
“In relation to malign state actors more generally, proscription, we do need legislation in order to take necessary measures, and that is legislation that we're bringing forward as soon as we can," Starmer told the Jewish Chronicle as he met with community members.
"We go into a new session in a few weeks' time, and we'll bring that legislation forward.”
However, on Friday a security source specialising in Iranian external operations told LBC that proscription is "not a silver bullet" when it comes to curbing acts of terrorism on British soil.
Read more: Four in court over arson attack on Jewish community ambulances
The source told LBC that "while welcome, this announcement and eventual proscription shouldn't be seen as - and certainly aren't - a silver bullet to curtail Iranian influence, espionage, and terrorism in the UK.
"The majority of actual IRGC members in the UK are likely to be case officers working under diplomatic immunity, and otherwise they have a long history of controlling and directing plots from either Iran or other Middle Eastern countries.
"This legislation must be expansive to be effective, with hyperfixating on the IRGC risking failure to capture the equally dangerous Ministry of Intelligence and Security."
If agreed, the IRGC will join a list of eighty proscribed groups in the UK, including the likes of Palestine Action, Wagner Group, Hamas and ISIS.
The Kenton synagogue in north London was one of a number of Jewish community hubs targeted by a group thought to be associated with the IRGC.
During the visit, Starmer was seen to meet with Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, with the PM inspecting the damage left by the firebomb.
The proscription announcement comes as three men and a teenager appeared at the Old Bailey accused of destroying four Jewish community ambulances in a recent arson attack.
Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, Judex Atshatshi, 18, and a 17-year-old boy, appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday charged with criminal damage.
The ambulances were targeted during the early hours of March 23, with the resulting blaze causing gas canisters inside the ambulances to explode.
The arson damage totalled around £1 million.
The ambulances belonged to Hatzola, a volunteer-led ambulance service operating in the Golders Green area of north London, with the NHS vowing to replace them.