Oral Answers to Questions

Dan Jarvis Excerpts

Monday 9th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[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.

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

Does the Minister accept that the IRGC is responsible for many acts of terrorism? While we appreciate the difficulty that arises from its being a state organisation and the reluctance to proscribe a state organisation, is it not a fact that Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, has come up with a formula to allow that to happen? If so, why do the Government not bring it forward with the maximum speed?

[Dan Jarvis]

We are very grateful to Jonathan Hall for the work that he has done. We are taking forward all his recommendations on strengthening our state threats powers, including the development of a proscription-like tool that will allow us to ban the activity and operations of foreign state-backed organisations.

[Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)]

8. What steps her Department is taking to reduce pull factors for migrants seeking to arrive in the UK illegally.

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[The Minister for Security (Dan Jarvis)]

My hon. Friend is a great champion for Huddersfield’s high street, and I am pleased to be able to tell her that tackling money laundering is key to delivering on this Government’s mission to make our streets safer and to deliver economic growth. The new high streets illegality taskforce will bring together Departments and agencies to systemically disrupt money laundering and related crime on the high street, while new funding will boost trading standards capabilities and fund an increase in law enforcement officers.

[Harpreet Uppal]

Police operations last year saw hundreds arrested and thousands of high street shops raided across the country, including in West Yorkshire. What further steps are being taken to tackle money laundering, including by connecting information across agencies and flagging suspicious entities, so that such operations can be closed down quickly?

[Dan Jarvis]

We are taking more steps. The new high streets taskforce will look at whether the current data sharing between agencies in supporting enforcement teams is appropriate in order to maximise our response to be as effective as possible. The Government will also publish a new anti-money laundering and asset recovery strategy this summer, which will set out further ambitious measures to strengthen our fight against money laundering, including through better sharing and exploitation of financial information across the system.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Home Affairs Committee.

[Dame Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands) (Con)]

Organised criminality is behind much of the money laundering that we see on our high streets, which is why my Committee last week launched an inquiry looking at organised criminality and the role it plays in the crime we see in neighbourhoods up and down the country. Will the Minister set out the support the Home Office is giving to the National Crime Agency on this issue and how he envisages the NCA working with the 12 mega-forces and the national police force envisaged in the White Paper?

[Dan Jarvis]

I am grateful to the Chair of the Committee for setting out the work it will be doing. I have long believed in the importance of working closely with the National Crime Agency to tackle serious organised crime, which is a blight on all our communities. We are working closely with the NCA to ensure it has the appropriate level of resourcing and the correct strategic priorities, and I meet the director every single week. We would be very happy to co-operate closely with the right hon. Lady on the work that her Committee is doing. She is right to mention the importance of police reform; we are obviously looking carefully at that process, and will ensure that we configure ourselves in a way that will maximise the ability of the National Crime Agency to tackle serious organised crime.

[Rupert Lowe (Great Yarmouth) (Ind)]

T2.  If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

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[Luke Myer (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

Will the Security Minister give us an update on the work of the defending democracy taskforce to tackle the level of disinformation on social media and in our democracy?

[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?

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[Dan Jarvis]

I hope the hon. Gentleman will understand if I do not get into the specifics—we do not comment on individual cases—but I can tell him that the Home Secretary will use all the tools at her disposal to ensure that we keep the public safe.

[Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)]

I would like to pass on my heartfelt sympathies to the family of Khaleed Oladipo, who was tragically killed in a knife crime incident last week in the city of Leicester. I am sure that no Member of this House wants to see another life cut short and another mother’s heart broken, so will the Minister back my calls for the Government to appoint a dedicated Minister to tackle knife crime?