UK Labour Party questions government’s banning of Hezbollah

Britain’s Labour Party questions the country’s proscription of Lebanon’s Hezbollah as a terror group, suggesting it was driven by political motives.

Prior to Monday’s decision by Home Secretary Sajid Javid, the United Kingdom differentiated between Hezbollah’s political and military wings, with only the latter outlawed under British law.

Labour, whose leader Jeremy Corbyn once referred to Hezbollah as his “friends,” said Tuesday the Home Office had not provided evidence to justify its change in stance on the Iran-backed organization’s political wing.

“Decisions on the proscription of organizations as terror groups are supposed to be made on the advice of civil servants based on clear evidence that those organizations fall foul of the proscription criteria set out in legislation,” Labour said in a statement.

“The Home Secretary must therefore now demonstrate that this decision was taken in an objective and impartial way, and driven by clear and new evidence, not by his leadership ambitions,” the party added.

WOW! Labour reacts to Hezbollah ban: ‘@sajidjavid must show the decision was taken in impartial way ans driven by new evidence, not his leadership ambitions’
Hezbollah’s own leaders say the political and military wings are the same! What more evidence is needed?! pic.twitter.com/wGOIXXerMx

— Justin Cohen (@CohenJust) February 26, 2019

Despite questioning the move, Labour said it would not actively oppose it, according to The Guardian.

The new designation was expected to be approved later Tuesday when the House of Commons votes on an amendment that also bans a pair of West African jihadist organizations as terror groups.