Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential link between the foreign-funded Islamic cultural centres in the UK and the Muslim Brotherhood; and if she will make a statement.

HM Government does not collect information on the funding of religious institutions in the UK. If such institutions, in England and Wales, are registered charities with the Charity Commission and have an annual income of over £25,000, their accounts are made publically available on the charity’s entry on the Public Register of Charities, which is accessible from www.charitycommission.gov.uk

In addition to the requirement to file accounts, the Charity Commission, as the charity regulator in England and Wales, can review and inspect the financial records of charities to ensure that their trustees comply with their duty to account. The Prime Minister last year commissioned a review into the funding of extremism in the UK. This will examine specifically the nature, scale and origin of Islamist extremist activity in the UK including any overseas sources.

In December last year, the Prime Minister commented on the conclusions of the Muslim Brotherhood Review that was commissioned to improve the Government’s understanding of the Group. The Government will keep under review the views that are promoted and activities that are undertaken by Muslim Brotherhood associates in the UK.