Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (Photo: Reuters)
The British government has played down media reports suggesting it intends to conduct a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.
UK newspaper The Telegraph reported on Sunday that Prime Minister David Cameron is to order action against the Brotherhood and other Islamist groups "accused of fuelling extremism in Britain and across the Arab world."
The reported UK campaign is said to include investigations into charities that are effectively "fronts" for the Brotherhood, a probe into the organisation's funding and links to jihadist groups, as well as a ban on Islamic clerics linked to the group from countries such as Qatar and Turkey from coming to Britain for rallies and conferences.
However, a government spokesperson told Ahram Online that The Telegraph's report is a "speculation".
In April, Cameron commissioned a review into the Brotherhood on the back of Islamist movements rising in the Arab world after the 2011 uprisings.
The Telegraph said Sir Richard Dearlove, a former head of MI6 and the current advisor to the review, is reported to have described the Brotherhood as being "at heart a terrorist organisation."
It also quoted Lorenzo Vidino, who is understood to have worked on the final review of the commissioned report, as saying "it is clear that the Brotherhood has many dark spots, ranging from its ambiguous relationship with violence to its questionable impact on social cohesion in Britain."
The review team, headed by Sir John Jenkins, Britain’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, handed over its final report to Cameron in July.
The government spokesperson refused to set a date for announcing the report. However, she confirmed it will be this fall.
The Brotherhood has been compliant with the UK review, submitting evidence.
Egyptian authorities have blamed the group for the bulk of the violence after the ouster of the Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July of last year. The Brotherhood has distanced itself from the terrorist attacks and violence, insisting that it is peaceful.
Both Egypt and Saudi Arabia have outlawed the organisation. The UK government did not respond to their call to do the same.
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