Iran’s ‘nerve centre’ in the UK received £240,000 during Covid

An Islamic centre branded the “nerve centre” for Iran in the UK received more than £240,000 in government Covid payments despite having a reserve of  £4.2 million, it has been revealed.

The Islamic Centre of England (ICE), described as the voice of Iran’s supreme leader in the UK, received two furlough payments of  £109,476 in 2020 and £129,556 in 2021, even though its year-end accounts showed £4.2 million in reserve.

The payments were revealed in a report by the think tank Policy Exchange which called for a ban on visas being issued for Iranian nationals to work at the centre.

The report said all four directors of the centre since 1994 had been named as representatives in the UK of Iran’s supreme leader. It has also frequently held events to mark the 1979 Islamic revolution.

In 2020, the centre hosted a vigil for Qassim Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who had been killed in a drone strike in January 2020.

ICE’s director Seyed Hashem Moosavi issued a statement on its website in which he praised Soleimani as a “great martyr”.

Last year the Charity Commission opened a statutory inquiry into ICE amid serious governance concerns.

Governance concerns

It appointed an interim manager “due to the trustees’ failure to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities and their failure to protect the charity’s assets”. Policy Exchange said the inquiry should be expected to report within two months.

Paul Stott, head of security and extremism at Policy Exchange, said: “Iran challenges our security, but it also threatens the UK’s social cohesion and our values.

“Allowing it to build and sustain an infrastructure in this country is madness. We need to get much smarter in our response, and that starts with proper control of the visa system.”

The report recommended: “Visas should no longer be issued to Iranian nationals to work at ICE, or any institution affiliated to it.

“ICE, with its director serving as the representative of Iran’s spiritual leader, is an arm of the Iranian regime in this country. The policy of issuing visas to Iranian clerics to minister in this country should end.

“The role of the Islamic Republic of Iran in disputes in this country concerning blasphemy must be fully investigated.”

ICE was contacted for comment.

A spokesman has previously said the centre was a “purely religious and cultural organisation, which provides various services to the local communities”.

The spokesman added: “It is an independent charity regulated by British law, which is totally funded by the local beneficiaries. The majority of the trustees, donors, and attendees are British citizens. Indeed, this charity is nothing to do with politics, while we strongly believe that the politically motivated lobbies are trying to drag the charity into their political disputes.”