The move follows a report by Lord Walney, the government’s former independent adviser on political violence and disruption, which warns the regulator is “toothless” in confronting extremist-linked organisations.
His 100-page report, Undue Influence, identifies an alleged network of more than 30 religious institutions, cultural centres and charities in Britain said to have ties to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Eight of the ten charities examined are already under investigation by the commission, but Walney highlights “systemic delays” and a reliance on “technical remedies”, such as replacing individual trustees, rather than stronger enforcement and a crackdown on non-compliant charities.
At the centre of the alleged network outlined by Walney was said to be the Islamic Centre of England (ICE) in Maida Vale.
Last week, the JC reported that the centre hosted a vigil for the assassinated ayatollah, at which some people present had been audibly weeping, as one video showed.
A makeshift shrine outside ICE last Sunday (Photo: Instagram)[Missing Credit]
The Walney report also raised concerns about the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), which organises the annual Al Quds demonstration linked to the regime that is dubbed an “annual carnival of Jew hate”.
Walney also identified senior figures connected to UK charities who have also held roles within Iranian regime-linked institutions, including the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution. Some individuals’ links to Al-Mustafa International University, which the US Treasury has designated for recruiting on behalf of the IRGC Quds Force, were also noted in the report.
Kasra Aarabi, an extremism expert cited in the report, said the infrastructure was “an arm of Iranian regime transnational repression” that had included “targeting members of the diaspora that are vocal against the regime, whether that be cyber campaigns, online trolling campaigns, doxxing campaigns, whether that be physical intimidation.”
Sir William Shawcross, chairman of the Charity Commission between 2012 and 2018, said he encountered a “real nervousness about talking about suspicions of Muslim organisations … there’s a widespread fear.. of being accused of being racist”.
Walney warns there is a “compliance trap” with the Commission “inadvertently” assisting some of the “extremist-linked charities in obscuring their true nature”, allowing them to remain within regulatory rules while their “underlying mission remains unchanged”.
Walney criticised the scope of the commission for running probes that focus on “compliance and governance,” rather than “ideological concerns or links to foreign and subversive states or bodies”.
Announcing the reforms – which were launched separately from Walney’s report – Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “Charities are the lifeblood of our communities, and we will not allow extremists to hijack their good name.”
Since October 2023 the Charity Commission has opened more than 400 regulatory cases related to hate speech and referred about 70 cases to police where potential criminal offences were identified.
ICE has previously told the JC: “ICE is a religious and cultural centre serving the Muslim community in London and is fully independent of any foreign government or political entity.
“We operate under the laws of the United Kingdom, and our activities are focused solely on religious, educational, and community services.”
The IHRC previously told the JC: “We will not be cowed into silence by those who wish to whitewash Israel’s crimes in Gaza.”
