BICOM

Labour MPs severely criticised party leaders for not supporting the government’s move to ban Hezbollah in the House of Commons yesterday.

Labour did not require its MPs to vote in the debate and instead issued a critical statement questioning the need for the ban. A Labour spokesperson said: “The Home Office has previously ruled that there was not sufficient evidence that the political wing of Hezbollah fell foul of proscription criteria, a position confirmed by ministers in the House of Commons last year. Ministers have not yet provided any clear evidence to suggest this has changed.” Labour also suggested that the ban was driven by the Home Secretary’s ambitions to lead the Conservative party.

Labour MP Wes Streeting said of the Labour Party’s equivocation: “There is a long and proud tradition, a strong and proud social democratic tradition, in the Labour Party of confronting and facing down murderous, hateful ideology.” He added: “it is not good enough to say we won’t be opposing – we should be making clear that we would troop through the lobby and vote for it if there’s a division. That’s what people across the country want to hear.”

During the debate, shadow Home Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds declined to respond to Home Secretary Sajid Javid when asked if he supported the ban. He was joined on an otherwise empty front bench by the Shadow Home Secretary, Diane Abbott. Louise Ellman MP criticised Thomas-Symonds for being “unable to give proper, full support to the banning of this terrorist organisation. Hezbollah are not our friends and today would have been a very good opportunity to say so.”

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said: “There have long been calls to ban the whole group…. I’ve carefully considered the evidence and I’m satisfied they are one and the same with the entire organisation linked to terrorism.”

Former Labour MPs Ian Austin and Luciana Berger, who left the party last week, tweeted in support of the government’s position. Austin criticised Labour, saying that under Corbyn the Labour Party is “always on the wrong side”. Berger said she welcomed  the government’s decision.

The motion passed without a vote and if approved by the House of Lords the ban will come into force on Friday and support for Hezbollah will carry a maxium sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Read BICOM’s new briefing on Hezbollah here.