Iran exploits Britain’s open borders to ‘export terror’ to UK | Politics | News
MI5 foils 20 IRGC-backed plots since 2022 (Image: Getty)
The UK has become one of the most preferred destinations for Iranian refugees, with more than 67,000 people arriving in the past decade. It comes as analysis by the Henry Jackson Society warned that Britain’s border policies now constitute a national security emergency.
The think tank said agents of the Tehran-based regime were exploiting Channel crossings and Britain had become the preferred destination for those leaving the war-torn country. Last year, 4,489 Iranians arrived on small boats, 62% of whom came from the French coast, according to Interior Ministry data. The association warned that the flow of migrants, combined with the presence of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), poses a security risk.
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Barak Seener, a member of the association, said the “internal national security threat is exacerbated by the UK’s open borders” and warned that the Government had no way of monitoring who was entering the country.
“The IRGC is not only arming its terrorist proxies, it is also arming immigrants coming to the UK and we have no way of tracking them,” the association added.
This follows a series of fears that the militant group was making plans to launch attacks on UK soil.
MI5 director general Ken McCallum previously confirmed that security services had foiled at least 20 IRGC-backed plots in the UK since January 2022.
These included a plot to kill two British-Iranian journalists at London-based opposition publication Iran International in January 2024.
In a speech last October, the security chief warned that “Iran’s autocratic regime is likewise frantically trying to silence its rivals around the world, including the UK.”
Chris Philp warns of Iran-backed terrorism on UK soil (Image: Getty)
British asylum law has been accused by society of creating loopholes in the system that allow hostile state actors to slip through the cracks.
He claims those arriving by sea are not required to show passports, meaning authorities have no reliable way to verify where they come from.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told the Daily Express that Iran “supports terrorism and Islamic extremism on British soil”.
He has repeatedly called for tightening border controls and banning the IRGC.
“Labour has presided over more than 73,000 illegal Channel crossings since taking office and there are no serious plans to stop them,” the senior Tory said.
“Each of these crossings is not examined, each one is an open door and hostile states are abusing it.”
“Only the Conservative Party has a clear plan to tackle immigration and get out of this madness. Our border plan will leave the ECHR and ECAT, ban asylum and other protection claims by illegal entrants, build up our deportation force, increase the number of deportees to 150,000 a year and end the appeals merry-go-round.”
The Government was approached for opinion.
