Iran

The reports we heard out of Iran in January this year have been nothing short of horrific and demonstrate the lamentable extent to which Iran’s corrupt regime will go to cling to power. I have met the Iranian Ambassador and made my views and those of my constituents very clear. I know that the Government also shares my deep concerns about the activities of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the UK.   

This Government has introduced wide-ranging sanctions against the Iranian regime, which I support. This includes the sanctioning of individuals and organisations involved in human rights abuses in Iran. I have spoken in the House to ask how the Government plans to go further in protecting the Iranian people and addressing the threat that Iran poses to communities here in Britain. 

I have also condemned the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran as ill-judged, ill-advised, illegal and was the first senior British politician to do on national media. Notwithstanding the terrible crimes of the Iranian regime, it seems that some people are yet to learn that you can’t bomb a country into democracy. Instead, I fear the horrors we have already seen – like the bombing of a girls’ school in southern Iran – will be repeated again and again. I am pleased our Prime Minister recognised that there was no clear plan behind Trump’s actions and is firmly on the side of international law and continues to put Britain’s interests first. 

You can read my column in the Mirror on Iran here.