I will do whatever is necessary to vanquish terrorism. That’s why we are proscribing Hizb ut-Tahrir

What happened in Israel exactly 100 days ago on 7th October 2023 reached the very depths of human depravity and evil. Those who perpetrated the rape and slaughter of innocent people sought to do so on a genocidal scale. It was the worst loss of Jewish life on any single day since the Holocaust. The pogrom had wielded its ugly head again, this time in the 21st Century.

I visited Israel as Foreign Secretary in the aftermath. As a matter of temperament and personal preference, I tend to talk about what action I plan to take, rather than about how something makes me feel. Let’s just say that after that visit, something inside me is forever changed.

Things have also changed for British Jews since October 7th. Many have family in Israel, many feel a kinship with fellow Jews, and of course, like anybody decent, they were horrified and heartbroken. But it goes beyond that. For the fact is that every time war breaks out in the Middle East, life gets harder for Jews everywhere, including in the UK.

People of good faith will always have differing views about the conduct of Israeli Governments. But holding Jewish people collectively responsible for Israel’s conduct – whether that conduct is genuine, alleged, or invented – is racist. Yet it is a widespread practice. Antisemitism of all kinds explodes whenever there is trouble in the Middle East. I recognised when I became Home Secretary that British Jews do not feel safe, and I promised to do everything in my power to change that.

Not everybody responded to the attack of 7th October with sorrow and horror. The Hizb ut-Tahrir group’s revolting response was lavishly to praise it. Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international Sunni Islamist political organisation with a footprint in at least 32 countries. It has had a presence in the UK since the 1980s. Its stated long-term goal is to establish a Caliphate ruled under Islamic law. They have consistently called for Muslim armies to rise up and carry out similar acts to Hamas’ attack on October 7th.

The UK Government has concluded that Hizb ut-Tahrir is promoting and encouraging terrorist activity. Its online praise for the 7th October attack included references to Hamas as “heroes” and encouraged further such terrorism. Hizb ut-Tahrir globally has a long history of praising and celebrating attacks against Israel and attacks against Jews more widely. An article attributed to the group’s Egyptian branch on October 8th referred to the killing of Jewish tourists by an Egyptian police officer as “a simple example of what should be done towards the Jews”.

This vicious antisemitism is the underpinning of its philosophy. The way Hizb ut-Tahrir has behaved at demonstrations since Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel has only served to worsen community tensions. They are also hideously homophobic.

Hamas is already proscribed in this country, and I have decided to proscribe Hizb ut-Tahrir as well. Hizb ut-Tahrir is banned in many countries around the world, including Germany, with restrictions also placed on its activities in Austria. This is not the first time we have considered taking this step. Tony Blair pledged to proscribe Hizb ut-Tahrir in 2005 and successive governments have considered it since. But today we take decisive action to protect our national security.

Hizb ut-Tahrir will become the 80th terrorist organisation proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000. For an organisation to be proscribed, the Home Secretary must reasonably believe that it is concerned in terrorism as set out in Section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000. If that statutory test is met, the Home Secretary must then consider the proportionality of proscription. Proscription is a powerful tool that comes with severe criminal penalties, banning membership of and expressions of support for the organisation. It enables other disruptive activity, including immigration disruptions and the application of terrorist-financing offences. The resources of a proscribed organisation are terrorist property and therefore liable to be seized.

It’s important to understand why I have taken this action. I have no problem with anyone saying something that I find ludicrous, unfair, ill-informed, wrong, or completely bonkers. This is different. Legitimate free speech includes neither the promotion of terrorism nor celebrating terrorist acts. Those who committed the attacks of 7th October are monsters, as are those who promote them.

We will continue working towards a lasting solution in the region for all people. Unfortunately, groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir and Hamas do not help the cause of Palestinian people or Muslims. They instead sow division in communities by supporting violence and acts of terrorism.

We will not let terrorist groups abuse our freedom of speech to radicalise or promote terrorism – the safety and security of the British people is my priority.

Proscription will curb Hizb ut-Tahrir’s ability to operate as it currently does. It is not only an organisation that rejects British values. It actively seeks to undermine them. The United Kingdom has zero tolerance for antisemitism. And I will do whatever is necessary in order to vanquish terrorism.

James Cleverly is Home Secretary of the United Kingdom

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