The Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which has taken control of Damascus, could be removed from the UK’s list of proscribed terrorist organisations, Downing Street has indicated.
The prime minister’s spokesperson said the developments in Syria were “an evolving situation” and that the government’s proscription regime was kept “under regular review”.
There have been calls for ministers to reconsider the proscription of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the overthrow of Bashar-al-Assad’s regime in Syria after 13 years of civil war.
The UK government cannot hold talks with HTS while it is proscribed as a terrorist group. Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister, said “the situation is very fluid” and that ministers would “look at that in the days to come”.
“They’ve been proscribed for quite a long time now,” McFadden told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. “The leader of that group has distanced himself away from some of the things that have been said in the past. He is saying some of the right things about the protection of minorities, about respecting people’s rights. So we’ll look at that in the days to come.”
McFadden said the political situation in Syria was uncertain “but obviously, if the situation stabilises, there’ll be a decision to make about how to deal with whatever new regime is in place there”.
“It should be a relatively swift decision so it’s something that will have to be considered quite quickly, given the speed of the situation on the ground.”
HTS was banned in 2017 because of its past association with al-Qaida, the terrorist organisation once led by Osama bin Laden. The HTS leader, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has since cut ties with al-Qaida.
Russia, a staunch ally of Assad, confirmed that the toppled leader had fled to Moscow and sought asylum there. His wife, Asma, who has British citizenship, is believed to be there with him. McFadden said there had been “no contact or no request” from her to come to the UK.
On Monday, Downing Street said ministers were “having many conversations with regional allies” and called on “all sides” in Syria to protect civilians and ensure that aid could reach those who needed it.
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“The Syrian people have had to put up with Assad’s brutal regime for far too long,” the prime minister’s spokesperson said. “It took countless lives, spread instability across the region and led to horrendous suffering amongst the Syrian people.
“Our focus now is ensuring a political solution prevails and peace and stability is restored in Syria. We call on all sides to protect civilians and ensure essential aid can reach the most vulnerable in the coming hours and days.”