Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Prinsley Excerpts

Monday 9th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mike Tapp]

When migrants enter the UK on economic routes, it is expected that they will be able to support their families. We are maintaining that principle, and it is right that we look into how we can do so better in response to circumstances. We will continue to ensure that migrant children are considered when we make decisions on requirements for settlement. As for the bigger picture, we saw an unprecedented influx of migration under the last Government that will put a massive strain on public services, so it is right that we extend the period from five to 10 years. That is what the British people expect, that is what we hear on the doorsteps, and that is what the hon. Lady’s constituents are saying as well.

[Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)]

6. What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the EU’s decision to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group.

[The Minister for Security (Dan Jarvis)]

We work very closely with our allies, but EU designations are a matter for the EU. It is the Government’s long-standing position not to comment on the detail of intelligence and security matters—for instance, whether specific organisations are being considered for proscription in the UK—but I can say that in concert with our international partners, we will use all appropriate tools at our disposal to protect the UK from state threats.

[Peter Prinsley]

Given Iranian malign influence on the streets of London, Iran’s web of proxies, the menace that it poses to world peace, and recent reports that as many as 30,000 protesters may have been killed by the IRGC, will the UK join the EU, the United States, Canada and Ukraine in imposing further sanctions? Is it not time for our Government to formally proscribe the IRGC, which is surely not the servant of the Iranian people?

[Dan Jarvis]

My hon. Friend is right to raise his concerns in the way that he does. I can inform him and the House that on 13 January the Foreign Secretary set out the action that the Government are taking in co-ordination with allies, in response to the consistent threat that the Iranian regime poses to stability, security and freedom, and that last week the Foreign Secretary announced a further sanctions package targeting 10 individuals and one organisation involved in human rights abuses in Iran. We are continuing to monitor the situation very closely, and we urge Iran to protect fundamental freedoms, including access to information and communications.