Two former international development secretaries have called for an inquiry into the way in which UK counter-terrorism laws are hampering the humanitarian work of Islamic charities, including some of the few British charities capable of operating inside Syria.
One of the two former cabinet ministers, the Conservative Andrew Mitchell, has raised the issue with senior officials in Downing Street and questioned whether government aid is being diverted from Islamic charities. Nearly a fifth of government aid goes to charities.
Mitchell, who was international development secretary from 2010 to 2012, and Clare Short, a Labour party predecessor, are writing to the Commons international development select committee urging the all-party body to mount an inquiry into growing complaints by Islamic charities. The charities, including Islamic Relief, one of the largest Muslim charities, which was praised by David Cameron during the 2010 election campaign, say their urgent humanitarian work is being disrupted either by banks nervous of falling foul of counter-terror legislation or by civil servants anxious that some of the funding may fall into the wrong hands.
Short, who was international development secretary from 1997 to 2003, said: “This is an issue that needs clarifying and sorting out. It has been around as a problem for some time, but it has been getting worse and worse. We have got this enormous capacity in the UK of these Muslim humanitarian charities, yet they are struggling with one hand behind their back. We need a proper scrutiny and examination bringing all this out. It is preventing efficiency.”
Mitchell said: “These are some of the few charities that can get into Syria and help the benighted people of that country, yet they are being held back due to misunderstandings and banking bureaucracy.”
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