British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to introduce legislation in the next parliamentary session in July to proscribe Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), The Guardian reported.
During a visit on Thursday to Kenton United Synagogue in northwest London, Starmer said he wanted “to make Britain a country where our Jewish community feels safe."
The synagogue in Harrow was targeted in an arson attack on Saturday night that caused minor smoke damage but no injuries, according to the Community Security Trust, which monitors antisemitism.
A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named because of his age, pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates Court on Tuesday to arson not endangering life, though he claimed he did not know the building was a synagogue and did not intend to hurt anyone.
An Iran-linked group, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
In an interview with the Jewish Chronicle, Starmer said he was deeply concerned by the increasing use of proxy agents by the Iranian regime. He said legislation enabling the proscription of the IRGC, a move Labour pledged while in opposition, would be introduced in “a few weeks" at the start of the new parliamentary session in July.
Asked about banning the group, Starmer said, “In relation to malign state actors more generally, proscription, we do need legislation in order to take necessary measures, and that is legislation that we’re bringing forward as soon as we can. We go into a new session in a few weeks’ time, and we’ll bring that legislation forward."
Responding to figures showing the number of British Jews emigrating to Israel has reached a 40-year high, Starmer replied, “I want to make Britain a country where our Jewish community feels safe, as they have done for a very long time, and into the future. I’m determined to do that. That means making clear that we stand alongside our Jewish community."
He added that he wanted the whole country to see the fight against antisemitism “as a fight for all of us, it’s a fight for Britain, a fight for the Britain we love".
Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, welcomed the planned move. “This is something the Board of Deputies and communal partners have long called for, and these calls have intensified over recent weeks," he said.
The move comes amid a spate of attacks targeting the Jewish community, particularly in London.
Since March 23, Britain has seen a series of arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish-linked targets. On that date, four ambulances belonging to Hatzolah in Golders Green, north London, were set on fire.
Last week, two petrol-filled bottles and a brick were thrown at the Finchley Reform Synagogue in London. Police later arrested two suspects.
On Tuesday, eight suspects were arrested as part of an investigation into a series of arson attacks in London, some of which targeted Jewish institutions.
According to the Community Security Trust, antisemitic incidents in the UK have risen sharply since the October 7, 2023 attacks and Israel’s war in Gaza. The organization recorded 3,700 incidents in 2025.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)