David Cameron has described members of the Muslim Brotherhood as possible extremists but stopped short of banning the group after a long-delayed official inquiry into its activities in Britain.
The prime minister said the review found the Islamist organisation had had significant influence in groups claiming to speak for British Muslims. He added that the Brotherhood characterised the UK as fundamentally hostile to Muslim faith and identity and had expressed support for terrorist attacks by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
“The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism,” Cameron said in a written ministerial statement to MPs. “Parts of the Muslim Brotherhood have a highly ambiguous relationship with violent extremism.”
As a result of the stronger than expected findings of the review, which was undertaken by the former British ambassador to Saudi Arabia Sir John Jenkins, the government will consider taking action against the Muslim Brotherhood and could end up banning it.
The review was completed last summer amid calls from allies such as Saudi Arabia for the UK to ban the group, and ministers have been accused of sitting on the report to avoid upsetting key partners in the Middle East.
The group played a leading role in Egypt’s 2011 revolution. It is considered a terrorist organisation by several countries but has also taken part in democratic elections on a peaceful platform.
Cameron’s statement said individuals closely associated with the group in the UK had supported suicide bombings and other attacks in Israel by Hamas – whose military wing has been proscribed in the UK since 2001 as a terrorist organisation, and which describes itself as the Palestinian chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The prime minister said the government would ensure “central and local government does not inadvertently provide legitimacy or a platform for extremists”.
“We will challenge extremists’ poisonous narratives and promote positive alternatives that show vulnerable people that there are better ways to get on in life.”
He said the government would keep a close watch on the views promoted by Muslim Brotherhood associates in Britain in Arabic and English, as well as their activities. Britain would also continue to refuse visas to members and associates of the Muslim Brotherhood who were on record as having made extremist comments.
There would be a particular focus on fundraising in Britain for the Muslim Brotherhood to ensure that money raised by charities with links to the organisation was not used to finance it, he said.
Lawyers for the Muslim Brotherhood have said that any undue criticism of the group will be challenged in the courts.
The Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, said the Jenkins review had been requested by the Saudi government and “shines a light into the shady corners of our relationship with the Kingdom. We should decide these things based on real and credible intelligence and not pressure from Riyadh,” he said.
“We need to be less of a slavish ally and more critical of their role both within the region and on human rights. We are now calling on the government to start a formal inquiry into the external funding for extremist perversions of Islam.”