A London-based Islamic charity accused of acting on behalf of the Iranian regime is authorised to sponsor migrant visas to Britain despite being under investigation over its alleged links to Tehran.
The Islamic Centre of England appears on the Home Office’s official register of organisations permitted to sponsor skilled workers and religious ministers, according to The Telegraph.
Although it remains on the Home Office’s approved sponsor list, the government department said the organisation had not brought any workers into the country since 2022.
The Home Office has resisted calls to remove its licence while the Charity Commission—Britain’s independent charity regulator—investigates the organisation.
A government spokesman said the authorities took the threat from the Iranian regime and its supporters “with the utmost seriousness,” adding that any wrongdoing could lead to criminal prosecution, civil action and the loss of licences.
The continued authorisation has nevertheless raised questions over why an organisation facing such serious allegations retains the power to facilitate migration into Britain.
Lord Walney, a former government adviser on political violence, described the situation as “completely unacceptable” and urged the Home Secretary to review the centre’s status.
“Given its history of controversy and status under ongoing investigation, it is alarming that the Islamic Centre of England is a registered visa sponsor,” he said.
The investigation has already resulted in changes to the centre’s governance. It was required to remove rules stating that its trustees must include a religious representative of Iran’s supreme leader.
Further controversy followed a “community bazaar” held at the centre earlier this year. Vendors reportedly offered Hezbollah-themed phone cases, pro-Iranian regime key rings and stickers depicting Qassim Soleimani, the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force.
Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq in 2020. The centre later held a candlelit vigil in his memory.
Its director and imam, Seyed Hashem Moosavi, has also described demonstrators opposing Iran’s rulers as “soldiers of Satan.”
The centre denies being controlled by Tehran and maintains that it is an independent British charity operating within the law.
“Like many charities, faith organisations and other eligible institutions in the UK, the centre holds a Home Office sponsor licence, which allows it to sponsor skilled workers where it meets the requirements of the UK’s immigration system,” a spokesman said.
The case forms part of a wider controversy over which organisations are permitted to bring workers into Britain. The Islamic College in north London, which has also faced allegations of links to the Iranian regime, remains an approved sponsor.
It was founded by Saied Reza Ameli, a member of Iran’s Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, and has reportedly been affiliated with Al-Mustafa International University. The United States has sanctioned the Iranian institution, describing it as an instrument of indoctrination. The Islamic College has called claims of such an affiliation “unfounded.”
Separate reporting has found that Islamic bookshops selling antisemitic material and books considered a radicalisation threat in British prisons have also received permission to sponsor foreign workers.
Reform UK MP Lee Anderson said the revelations exposed serious failings in the immigration system.
“Rather than doctors and engineers, we brought in staff for Islamic shops selling books on jihad,” he said. “It is beyond belief that the Home Office did not realise this.”
