IT is up to the police to decide whether the annual pro-Iran Al Quds march takes place in London at the weekend, according to Justice Secretary Sarah Sackman.
She told GB News: “I’ve been on record even before the current conflict, that those expressing support for the malign regime in Iran, for the IRGC and its proxies, those preaching hate and anti-semitism, have no place on London’s streets, and this year, that call is even more acute, given the conflict going on.
“It’s a call that needs to come from the police. They will need to take the decision. But I don’t want to see hate on the streets of London.”
Asked why the IRGC has not been proscribed, she said: “We have sanctioned IRGC people. We have sanctioned over 500 since we came into government.
“We have the tools to enforce against the IRGC, both as we’ve been talking about abroad, but also at home, and where there are legal loopholes this government will fill them.”
On the new Iranian leader’s London property portfolio, Sackman said: “We will need to look at that, because I’m very clear – I actually represent the largest Iranian diaspora in the UK, and they’re calling for action to protect British people on British soil from the malign actions of the IRGC.
“We’re going to have to take action on that. But it’s why I’ve said that I don’t want to see hate on our streets, and it’s why we’ve got to take action as a government.”
Asked why the government was ill-prepared militarily for the war on Iran, she said: “Well, the job of government is to properly resource our people, which is what we’ve done in our military, in our military bases.
“That’s not true, because since we came into government, we’ve reversed the trend that we saw under the last government, which was effectively not to keep up with the investment that was needed.
“The last government cut defence spending. It failed to keep up with 2.5% of GDP. We’ve made the necessary choices, for example, scrapping overseas aid, making cuts there in order to invest in defence.
“So we have been doing that. We’ve been sending Wildcat helicopters, F-35s, equipping our people so they can do their job, their brave, tireless and important job in the region.”
