Overview
- An order laid in Parliament deproscribes Hay’at Tahrir al‑Sham, lifting Terrorism Act offences such as membership and inviting support and leaving 83 organisations on the UK list.
- The government frames the move as supporting priorities that include counter‑Daesh cooperation, migration management and work on eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons, aligning with a U.S. delisting earlier this year.
- Officials cite Syria’s changed landscape since HTS‑led forces ousted Bashar al‑Assad in December and say engagement follows July’s visit to Damascus by former foreign secretary David Lammy.
- Opposition figures, including shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel, demand an urgent Commons explanation and warn deproscription risks legitimising a group with roots in al‑Qaida.
- Russia’s foreign intelligence chief criticises Western delistings of HTS as applying double standards in how terrorism is defined.