Cleverly moves to ban Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir as terror organisation

The international Islamist political group Hizb ut-Tahrir should be banned as a terrorist organisation, the Home Secretary said, as he branded it “antisemitic” and warned it “promotes and encourages terrorism”.

James Cleverly has moved to proscribe the group by putting an order before Parliament which would make joining the organisation illegal in the UK under terror laws, the Home Office said.

The proposal has to be debated and is subject to Parliament backing but, if agreed, the ban would come into force on Friday and would mean “belonging to, inviting support for and displaying articles in a public place in a way that arouses suspicion of membership or support for the group will be a criminal offence”.

Mr Cleverly said: “Hizb ut-Tahrir is an antisemitic organisation that actively promotes and encourages terrorism, including praising and celebrating the appalling October 7 attacks.

“Proscribing this terrorist group will ensure that anyone who belongs to and invites supports for them will face consequences. It will curb Hizb ut-Tahrir’s ability to operate as it currently does.”

Hizb ut-Tahrir is a pan-Islamic fundamentalist group which has been banned in many Arab nations, as well as in Germany and China.

It has organised rallies which took place on the streets of London alongside pro-Palestine marches in recent months, following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

A Hizb ut-Tahrir member could be seen shouting “jihad” in a video from an October march, but the Metropolitan Police said no offences were identified.

Conservative MP Bob Blackman last month called for leader of the UK arm of the group, Abdul Wahid, to be deported, claiming in the Commons that he should have his “right to be in this country” cancelled.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “When we discovered that Hizb ut-Tahrir had appeared to praise the Hamas attack of 7th October, we wrote to the Metropolitan Police Service to prevent the group from holding its demonstrations on the streets of London. The Met took no action and the rallies went ahead, in which there were calls for the armies of Muhammed to wage Jihad. Still, the Met refused to take action, making excuses to defend this rhetoric instead.

“We therefore wrote to the Home Secretary calling for the controversial Islamist group to be proscribed. Our polling of the Jewish community showed overwhelming support for this policy change.

“We commend James Cleverly for this significant announcement. It is absolutely the right step, and shows that the Government is listening. The Met should take note.”

The announcement comes 100 days since Hamas’s attacks, with more than 130 hostages still held in Gaza.