UK MPs urge Johnson gov’t to enforce Hezbollah ban
The letter came after UK Security Minister James Brokenshire said that the government did not collect data on the number of people in the UK investigated or charged with supporting Hezbollah.
By LAHAV HARKOVBritain's Secretary of State for Housing James Brokenshire arrives for the launch of former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's campaign for the Conservative Party leadership, in London, Britain, June 12, 2019(photo credit: HENRY NICHOLLS/REUTERS)
A cross-party group of UK parliamentarians expressed concern that Boris Johnson’s government was not effectively enforcing last year’s ban Hezbollah.The letter sent to UK Security Minister James Brokenshire on Wednesday came after he said, in a Parliamentary Answer, that the government did not collect data on the number of people in the UK investigated or charged with supporting Hezbollah.“The display of flags and other symbols of illegal organizations in public spaces by fellow British citizens, such as on political marches or on social media, is evident and offensive to ordinary people,” they added. “The public has a right to know to what extent the government’s bans on certain organizations are effective in preventing the public display of aggressive and divisive symbols.”They called on intelligence agencies and the Home Office to collect and regularly review statistics on people who have displayed the Hezbollah flag or other symbols of support, and update the House of Commons on those numbers. “Without an update from the government and the provision of appropriate statistics and other information, neither the House nor the public can properly assess whether the Government’s March 2019 ban on the entirety of Hezbollah was effective, is being implemented to a sufficient degree and if any policy changes are needed,” the MPs wrote.The letter’s signatories were Labour Friends of Israel chairman MP Stephen McCabe, Conservative MPs Andrew Rosindell, Theresa Villiers, Sir Graham Brady and Matthew Offord, DUP’s Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and crossbench Lord John Kilclooney.The UK fully banned Hezbollah last year, after previously having a partial ban that allows its “political wing.” In effect, this meant that Hezbollah flags were waved in anti-Israel marches.Israel’s government has called for European governments to ban the terrorist group, though the EU only lists its “military wing” as terrorists. Germany banned the group in April.Earlier this week, the IDF thwarted a Hezbollah attack on Israel’s northern border.
