BICOM

London Mayor Sadiq Khan will urge Home Secretary Amber Rudd to consider classifying Hezbollah as an illegal “proscribed” organisation under UK terrorism legislation.

Khan told London Assembly members that he will write to the Home Secretary to raise the issue after initially appearing reluctant to do so when the issue was first raised in late June.

Hezbollah’s legal status in the UK has been the focus of intense controversy following the “Al Quds Day” march in London on Sunday 18^th June. Hezbollah’s military wing is proscribed by UK Terrorism legislation and support and membership are serious criminal offences. Hezbollah’s political wing has not so far been included in the ban and “Quds Day” participants and Hezbollah supporters made a mockery of the law by wearing Hezbollah t-shirts and waving Hezbollah flags with paper notes attached stating that they were only supporting the “political wing” of Hezbollah. The Metropolitan took no action against any of the demonstrators.

Members of Parliament have repeatedly asked the Home Secretary to reconsider the case to proscribe both Hezbollah’s political and military wings. MPs raised the issue again on Wednesday in the House of Commons as they held a lengthy debate about the Israeli-Palestinian peace process negotiations. The US and Canada have declared Hezbollah an illegal organisation in their terrorism legislation and make no distinction between political and military wings. The Gulf Cooperation Council recently outlawed Hezbollah and also made no such distinction.