National Security

Debate between Bob Blackman and Dan Jarvis

Thursday 14th May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis]

My hon. Friend has been a diligent representative of his constituency, and I know that he takes these matters incredibly seriously. I hope that he understands this Government’s commitment to tackling antisemitism. He mentioned that in his constituency he has members of the UK Hong Kong community, so let me briefly say a word about them. Any foreign state-directed crime against an individual in the UK will never be tolerated, and the attempt to intimidate and harass members of the Hong Kong community is absolutely unacceptable. Hongkongers play an incredibly important role in our public life. I give him and them an absolute assurance that we will do everything we can to protect them.

My hon. Friend asked specifically about forthcoming legislation. He will understand that we take a range of measures to guard against the threat we face from malign actors and hostile states. It is a priority to introduce this legislation as soon as we are able. I will take it through Parliament, and we intend to fast-track it. I intend to bring it forward in the near future.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Proscription of the IRGC is long overdue, and I welcome the Government’s commitment to taking the necessary legal action to ensure that happens, but the Minister will be aware that I raised with him a year ago the fact that 13 charities based in this country have been banned in Arab countries. They are directly linked to Tehran: they take their orders from Tehran and get their funding from Tehran. Equally, there are assets across London, in both finance and property, that are directly linked to the IRGC and the theocracy in Iran. All of that is used to undermine the Jewish way of life in this country, so will he now take the necessary action? Why is the ambassador from Tehran still here? Why is the Iranian embassy still open? Why are these charities still operating in open defiance of what is necessary for proper order in this country?

[Dan Jarvis]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his points, and for his acknowledgment of our intention to introduce legislation that would allow the UK Government to proscribe state-backed entities. He will know that a range of measures have already been leveraged against the IRGC, which is sanctioned in its entirety. I think it was back in November last year that I announced a range of measures to defend against the threat that we undoubtedly face from Iran.

The hon. Gentleman’s point about charities is entirely reasonable. We work across Government, including with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Charity Commission, to tackle the kinds of behaviours he describes. He makes a reasonable point; I will take it away, and come back to him with a further update on the work we are doing. Good work is under way. I hope that he gets a sense, not just from the statement but from the various interactions and exchanges we have had over many months, of how seriously we take these issues. If he wants to discuss them with me further, I would be happy to.

Antisemitic Attacks

Debate between Bob Blackman and Dan Jarvis

Monday 20th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis]

I hope that across the House there is a shared endeavour and an absolute determination to ensure that this does not become the new normal that we have to endure. None of us wants that to be the case. My hon. Friend is right to raise the importance of tackling the root causes, and hopefully he will have heard my earlier answers, but he is also right to make the point that this work needs to be properly co-ordinated across Government. Although there is an important role for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in leading this work, it needs a response from the whole system and the whole of Government. I assure him that through the Home Office and the Cabinet Office, and with other supporting Departments, we make sure that that is the case.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I commend the police and the fire brigade for their prompt action in the early hours of Sunday morning. It was a reassurance patrol that spotted the firebombing of Kenton shul and prevented it from burning down completely, so that is welcome. Equally welcome is the extension of the section 60 notice, not just to Barnet but to Harrow and Brent—I think that has been announced while the Minister has been on his feet. We have to recognise that this is a series of terrorist attacks on the Jewish community. I have people contacting me saying, “Am I safe in my own home, let alone going to the synagogue?” That is a disgrace for this country and we have to take action immediately.

Will he look not only at proscription of the IRGC but the immediate proscription of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, so that membership of that organisation is a criminal offence? Equally, will he make sure that the charities behind these people—the Dar Alhekma Trust and the Abrar Islamic Foundation, which I wrote to the Minister about a year ago—are also proscribed, as well as the 16 other Islamic charities that have been proscribed by the Arab states?

The reality is that we have to take prompt and firm action to stop this terrorist activity now. What starts with the hate marches ends up with synagogues being burned and Jewish people feeling unsafe.

[Dan Jarvis]

I agree with pretty much all of what the hon. Member said, and I join him in commending the important work of the police and the fire service. On proscription, he knows that it is the long-standing policy of successive Governments that we do not talk about it, because that would be helpful to our adversaries, but we do look very carefully at the extent to which we can deploy proscription in a meaningful, targeted and effective way. The hon. Member should also understand—I know that he does—that it is but one tool in our armoury. There are many other things that we can do, and there are many other things that we are doing and will do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Blackman and Dan Jarvis

Monday 9th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Security (Dan Jarvis)]

The defending democracy taskforce is the fulcrum point that co-ordinates activity across Government. We work very closely with other Departments specifically on the issue of countering misinformation and disinformation, not least as we move towards the important elections taking place in May. This is an important body, which has recently had its mandate renewed by the Prime Minister. We work very closely with law enforcement to make sure that our democracy is properly protected.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

T6. Over the last two and a half years, our Jewish population have had to put up with hate marches starting outside synagogues. Jewish businesses have suffered hate demonstrations outside. Now shops that store kosher goods have been targeted by demonstrators. What action can the Home Secretary take to make sure that our Jewish population are protected and these evil perpetrators are brought to justice?

Security Update: Official Secrets Act Case

Debate between Bob Blackman and Dan Jarvis

Monday 13th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis]

The hon. Member talks about a stench. He has some brass neck, given what has gone on in his party recently. The National Security Adviser is a special adviser, and, given the reference to the United States, I would point the hon. Member in the direction of President Trump’s policy adviser, who just this morning praised the contribution made by the NSA.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

The problem that the Government have is that the story keeps changing, either each day or within a day. The right hon. Gentleman, who is obviously stating the Government’s position now, is giving us a view that completely contradicts the messages given by Ministers over the weekend. He has clearly referred to a huge number of meetings at which—I say this with the greatest respect—he was not present. Can he agree now that the content of all those meetings, and the minutes of those meetings, will be published, so that everyone in the House can understand what has happened? If that has to be done under certain rules so that the public do not have access to the information, fair enough; but the reality is that until such time as the Government come clean, the stench of this will continue.

[Dan Jarvis]

Let me assure the hon. Member that I take very seriously the points that he has made. Clearly there will be a legal dimension to all this, but I am happy to go away, look at his point and then come back to him.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Blackman and Dan Jarvis

Monday 31st March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

T6.  Yesterday, Mail Online reported on the leaking of a report from the National Police Chiefs’ Council on the Leicester riots of 2022. The report blamed Hindu extremism; however, during the riots, 105 Hindu homes were attacked, but no Muslim homes, and two Hindu temples were attacked, but no mosques. Will the Minister ensure that the report is published, so that we can scrutinise it and ensure that the blame is put where it should be?

[Dan Jarvis]

We take these matters very seriously. I will look carefully at the details of the point that the hon. Gentleman has made, and I am happy to discuss it with him further.

Hong Kong Democracy Activists

Debate between Bob Blackman and Dan Jarvis

Tuesday 4th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis]

My hon. Friend’s question has been asked by others. I assure him that national security is the overriding priority for this and, I hope, any Government. We look incredibly carefully at these matters. We will consider every aspect of this application, which ultimately is to be decided on by the Deputy Prime Minister. But as I have said, both the Home Secretary and the Foreign Secretary have written a very clear letter—I invite those Members who appear not necessarily to have read it to do so—and I can tell him and the House that the letter covers the full breadth of national security issues in relation to this planning application.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

The Minister is talking about the national security position in relation to the super-embassy. In January the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary wrote a letter about the application to the Deputy Prime Minister, who has to make the decision. In the light of the new information that has become available, will the Minister review that letter and take advice on whether the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary should be writing to the Deputy Prime Minister to recommend that the planning application is refused, rather than taking all these things into account?

[Dan Jarvis]

I understand the concerns that the hon. Member has raised. He will understand that I have already referred to the letter that was written back in January. If new evidence comes to light that is material to the planning application, no doubt that will be looked at very closely both by the Home Secretary and the Foreign Secretary, but I can assure him and the House that we take these matters incredibly seriously and look very closely at them. The letter that was written on 14 January does consider the full breadth of national security implications.

Iranian State Threats

Debate between Bob Blackman and Dan Jarvis

Tuesday 4th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis]

The hon. Gentleman speaks with great wisdom on these matters. I simply say that I completely agree with his analysis of the depth of the relationship with the United States. The truth of the matter is that all our constituents are kept much safer because of the partnership arrangement we have with the United States and other Five Eyes allies. That is the most important security relationship we have, and we need to invest in it for the long term. I can give him an assurance that that is what we will do.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I warmly welcome the Minister’s statement. He will probably be aware that at the start of this year our close ally the United Arab Emirates proscribed 19 organisations for their links to the IRGC and Iran, and that eight of those organisations are headquartered in the UK. Will he give a commitment to the House not to take action today, but to review what has been decided by our allies and take action to prevent those organisations from carrying out terrorist activities in the United Kingdom?

[Dan Jarvis]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that important matter. I was in the United Arab Emirates on Friday, so I am well versed on the points he made. I have responded to that issue in the House previously, but I give him an assurance that we will look closely at it, and I am happy to discuss it with him further.