Counter Terrorism Policing: Arrests

Baroness Foster of Oxton Excerpts

Wednesday 7th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

It is no surprise that my noble friend raises the issue that he has. I know he has raised it in both this House and in the House of Commons when he was a Member of that establishment. As I have said, I cannot routinely comment on proscription decisions. The House will be aware of our grave concern, long before these operations, about the arrest of Iranian nationals and the activities of different arms of the Iranian state in the UK, putting people’s safety at risk on UK soil. We are continuously undertaking serious security assessments, which are being instigated and updated as a result of incidents. We will continue to resolve and examine action that can be taken and will keep the House updated as soon as possible.

I know this may not be helpful to my noble friend at this moment, but the review that Jonathan Hall KC is undertaking for the Government has been completed and will be published in relatively short order. There will be a response from the Government to that, which will cover some of the issues that my noble friend has mentioned to date. Counterterrorism proscribing is an important tool, and we are not going to shy away from it, but we are waiting for that review to give factual information for us to make decisions, which we will report to the House at the earliest opportunity.

[Baroness Foster of Oxton (Con)]

My Lords, I echo the thanks to our police and security services, whom we rely on so much. The Minister does not have to comment, but it appears that the Israeli embassy was a target of the terror plot linked to Iran. The eight Iranian nationals from the Islamic Republic were clearly members, or at least supporters, of the Islamic Republican Guard Corps. Proscribing the IRGC is about not only sanctions but sending the message to this terrorist regime that it will not be allowed access to the UK under any circumstances. Can the Minister tell us when the Government will stop issuing visas to people coming in from Iran? When do the Government intend to proscribe the IRGC, which has been mentioned, as the terrorist group that it is, along with the USA and other European countries?