Asked by: Baroness O'Loan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are planning to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under close review, as we seek to protect the UK from the threats that we face. However, we will not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.
Iran's malign activities, including the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The UK already maintains sanctions on over 450 Iranian individuals and entities covering human rights abuses, nuclear proliferation, malign influence internationally and state threats, including sanctioning the IRGC in its entirety. The Government will continue to consider what further steps may be taken to deter Iran's malign activity.
The National Security Act 2023 provides another significant toolkit in the fight against individuals working for state entities like the IRGC. The UK is now a harder target for those states which seek to conduct hostile acts against the UK, including espionage, interference in our political system, sabotage, and assassination.
Asked by: Baroness O'Loan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that police receive adequate training in ECHR rights with regard to policing safe access zones around abortion clinics.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Under section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998, the police have an obligation to comply with the ECHR in all aspects of their work. Officer training is a matter for individual forces, which are independent of the Government.