by Craig Simpson, Telegraph
Islamic Centre of England can sponsor visas for ‘skilled workers’ despite ongoing Charity Commission investigation
A charity that is an alleged outpost of the Iranian regime in London has the right to bring migrants to Britain, The Telegraph can reveal.
The Home Office has given the Islamic Centre of England, based in Maida Vale, powers to sponsor visas for “skilled workers” and religious ministers.
The centre remains on the official register of visa sponsors despite accusations that it forms part of Iran’s propaganda machine in the UK. It has successfully issued a number of certificates of sponsorship, the document necessary for migrant workers to apply to enter the UK.
The Government has been urged to strip the organisation of its visa powers. The centre is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Charity Commission over alleged ties to the Iranian regime.
As part of the investigation, it was forced to remove governance rules stipulating that the board of trustees had to include a religious representative of the supreme leader of Iran.
The centre was flagged to the charity watchdog earlier this year for hosting a “community bazaar” where vendors sold items including pro-Iranian regime key rings and Hezbollah-themed phone cases.
Stickers featuring the silhouette of General Qassim Soleimani, of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), were also for sale. When Soleimani was killed in a US air strike in 2020, the centre held a candlelit vigil.
Seyed Hashem Moosavi, an imam and the centre’s incumbent director, has described protesters against the Iranian regime as “soldiers of Satan”.
Security experts raised concerns about the centre’s right to sponsor visas, particularly after Iran threatened to strike RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. The concerns also come amid fears that the Tehran regime is smuggling sympathisers into Britain on small boats across the Channel.