No 10 vows to review proscribing IRGC in olive branch to Israel-supporting MPs
Downing Street has promised to review the case for proscribing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in an olive branch to Israel-supporting MPs.
Senior government figures have privately indicated to Labour backbenchers that the Government is considering taking further action against Iran, The Sunday Telegraph understands.
The reassurance given to MPs over Labour’s stance on Iran follows deep splits within the party following the announcement last week of an embargo on some arms sales to Israel.
The Prime Minister has been struggling to keep the party united over its stance on Israel since taking office, with several MPs from the moderate wing of the party becoming increasingly frustrated.
“Quite a lot of us are quite p---ed off about the substance of the arms export licence and the fact that it looks like a pattern of decisions that are all heading in one direction. We would like to see some steering back,” one Labour MP said.
They pointed to the decision in July to resume taxpayer funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) which was suspended following claims that its members had taken part in the Oct 7 atrocity, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 240 people taken hostage. A number of employees were subsequently sacked.
This was followed by Sir Keir dropping the previous government’s challenge to the International Criminal Court application for an arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu.
The announcement about a partial arms embargo on Israel led a series of pro-Israel MPs, who tend to be drawn from the more moderate wing of the Labour Party, to make private representations to Downing Street about their misgivings.
“Most of the people who would be unhappy are not the kind of people who are going to express it in the chamber,” a Labour MP said. “It’s primarily the people who are most loyal and disciplined who are cross - we are not going to jump up and down disagreeing with our Secretary of State.”
MPs are understood to have been told that the Government is looking to see what further action it can take on Iran, including proscribing the IRGC.
Whitehall sources point to the fact that a new round of sanctions was announced last week against three individuals within the IRGC Quds Force and an IRGC unit for threatening the stability of the Middle East, which they say indicates that the government is serious about taking tough action on Iran.
Labour called for the proscription of the IRGC in opposition but has not yet committed to the move since winning the election.
The Labour manifesto explicitly called out the IRGC, saying: “From the Skripal poisonings to assassination plots by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, threats from hostile states or state-sponsored groups are on the rise, but Britain lacks a comprehensive framework to protect us.
“Labour will take the approach used for dealing with non-state terrorism and adapt it to deal with state-based domestic security threats.”
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On Monday, David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, announced that he was suspending about 30 arms export licences, citing alleged Israeli breaches of humanitarian law.
Last week, three Labour MPs, including the Solicitor General, warned in a letter to Mr Lammy that Jewish voters were “upset and angry” over the move, which has been heavily criticised.
The MPs, all representing north London seats, include Sarah Sackman, who as Solicitor General is one of the Government’s top legal advisers.
Her involvement in the letter is likely to prove embarrassing for the Prime Minister, who now faces a choice over whether to sack her for breaking ranks.
A spokesman for the Government said: “Iran’s destabilisation of the Middle East, their human rights violations, nuclear escalation, and its threats against people in the UK are abhorrent.
“We will not hesitate to take the most effective measures against the regime and the IRGC, as we did on Monday when announcing a fresh wave of sanctions against them.
“We are working at pace to identify further ways to deal with state threats including those from the IRGC.”