Ban Iran’s Al Quds Islamist hate march, MPs urge home secretary
Demand for “firm and immediate action” to stop next weekend’s London rally, warning it advances Tehran’s ideology
The home secretary has been urged to take “firm and immediate action” to ban next weekend’s Al Quds Day Islamist march in central London on the grounds that the annual protest “advances the ideological aims of the Iranian regime”.
A letter jointly signed by Lord Mendelsohn and Lord Polak has been backed by dozens of MPs and peers from across all political parties, calling on Shabana Mahmood to ban a demo “repeatedly been marked by arrests for racial hatred and open displays of support for proscribed terrorist organisations such as Hezbollah”.
The letter adds: “Antisemitic rhetoric, extremist symbolism, and the glorification of violent proxies are recurring features rather than isolated incidents. These displays intimidate British Jews and erode confidence in the state’s ability to protect them.”
It tells the home secretary:” The Government’s foremost duty is the protection of its citizens. With antisemitic incidents at heightened levels and tensions in the Middle East reverberating on our streets, safeguarding the UK’s Jewish community must be paramount. The right to protest is fundamental, but it does not extend to providing a platform for intimidation, extremist propaganda, or the promotion of a regime openly hostile to the West.
“Iran’s destabilising actions abroad have consequences at home. Allowing public platforms that legitimise the regime’s agenda weakens our credibility internationally and undermines cohesion domestically.
“This is a pivotal moment to demonstrate resolve against hostile state-linked extremism. Public protection and national security must come first.”
Former Home Secretary. Suella Braverman KC MP has also pointed out: “Every single member of the Reform UK Parliamentary party immediately added their name to this letter.”
The Al Quds Day demo is scheduled to take place on 15 March and is organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, which is under investigation by the Charity Commission over funding concerns.
Organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, it has previously seen attendees carrying Hezbollah flags, before the group was proscribed, and a video promoting this year’s demonstration showed protesters holding signs bearing the IHRC logo, which said the late Ayatollah Khamenei was on the “right side of history”.
The letter from the MPs and peers adds: “This is not a routine protest, but part of an international campaign established in 1979 by Ruhollah Khomeini to advance the ideological aims of the Iranian regime. It is particularly concerning that the organising body is itself under investigation by the Charity Commission over funding and governance issues.
“Iran has been formally identified as a persistent and hostile state actor targeting dissidents, Jewish and Israeli individuals, and British interests. Its external operations, including those linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, pose an ongoing threat to UK national security. In that context, permitting an event aligned with its revolutionary agenda in our capital sends an unmistakably troubling message.”
Reform UK confirmed that every member of its Parliamentary Party has joined in signing a cross-party letter urging the immediate banning of the demonstration.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman KC said: “We can see what this government is seemingly utterly blind to: Iran’s active and deliberate proliferation of terror and hate is not limited to the Middle East. And these antisemitic, anti-British, and anti-Western ideologies have no place in our society. They certainly should not be allowed to proudly protest on our streets. This is not freedom of speech, it is freedom of hate.”
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