Leaders of a London Islamic centre described as a “cut-out” of one of Iran’s deadliest military forces, have been stripped of their powers by the Charity Commission.
The regulator has appointed an interim manager to oversee running the Islamic Centre of England after its trustees “failed to comply with legal duties,” and to protect the registered charity’s assets.
The centre has been the subject of a statutory inquiry over serious governance concerns following what the commission described as “extensive engagement” in recent years.
In 2020 it was issued with an official warning after centre chiefs held a candlelit vigil to commemorate a high-ranking member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani—killed by a U.S. attack drone in Iraq—was accused of having close ties with the Taliban and was subject to UK financial sanctions over his terror links.
It also held another event in which a speaker urged support for Soleimani.
The commission said at the time that the trustees’ failures to intervene or provide a counter narrative put the charity’s reputation at risk.
In a statement released on Friday, the regulator said it had appointed solicitor Emma Moody of Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP to oversee the running of the centre’s affairs.
Threats
Announcing the latest action, Charity Commission Chair Orlando Fraser, KC said the regulator needed to act robustly where serious concerns about a charity exist.“The investigators leading this inquiry are assessing all information thoroughly,” Fraser said.
“The appointment of an interim manager will help the commission ensure the charity’s governance is restored and is improved to a better standard.”
Reacting to the news on Twitter, Conservative MP Alicia Kearns wrote: “This is a significant sanction and one of the most powerful interventions they have.
“This is the first step for all of us who have long campaigned for the closure of this cut-out of the IRGC.
“It makes clear that all is not well, and I hope the inquiry will conclude that the IRGC has no place operating on British soil.”
In February, MI5 revealed it had thwarted at least 15 Iran-backed kidnap and death plots against British-based individuals in the past year.
The attempted assassinations and abductions—linked to the IRGC—were made public hours after a London-based Persian broadcaster announced it had been forced to move its operations to the United States after safety concerns.
Acting on advice from the Metropolitan Police, Iran International TV “reluctantly” closed its Chiswick studios after police advised it was no longer possible to protect the channel’s staff and the surrounding public.
The increasing threats from Iran led to mounting pressure on the government to proscribe IRGC.
However, Minister for Security Tom Tugendhat has so far failed to do so, despite numerous calls from party and political colleagues.
IRGC Links
In March, several MPs called for the Maida Vale based premises to be shut down after a Times of London investigation showing that some of the sheikhs it promotes have called for the downfall of Western democracies and the “compassionate” killing of gay people.The religious organisation is run by a direct representative of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and is one of many across the UK with apparent links to the IRGC, according to the newspaper.
Referring to the reports in Parliament, Labour MP Christian Wakeford asked the security minister whether it was now time to proscribe the IRGC.
Tugendhat replied that the work the government has been doing “against the Iranian threat in the United Kingdom has not diminished—in fact, it has increased in recent months.”
He said that the Islamic Centre of England is “not alone” and “the work of the IRGC is not limited to those Iranian proxy organisations.”
Tugendhat added that the government is pulling together the “resources and the attitude” to deploy against the “vile threat” from Iran.
Responding to a similar question from Kearns about the proscription of the IRGC, the security minister again avoided confirming the government’s intention to do so.
Kearns said: “There are three—if not seven—cut-outs of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps operating here in the UK, silencing critics of the ayatollah, inciting hate, celebrating terrorists, and recruiting for a terrorist state.
“The government know that this House wants the IRGC proscribed, but in the immediate term, will they please protect us from transnational repression by shutting down these cut-outs of the Iranian state?”
Tugendhat replied that the government has had “this work ongoing for a number of months now,” but “asking for actions to be taken means we must be legally compliant with the responses.”
“That is where we are getting to—we are increasingly at the point where we are taking more and more action against the IRGC,” he said.
The Islamic Centre of England has charitable purposes which include “advancing the religion of Islam and promoting education and welfare among the Muslim community,” according to the commission.
The regulator said that an inquiry into the centre remains ongoing, with a report expected in the next number of months.
The Epoch Times has contacted the Islamic Centre of England for comment.
