HC Deb 19 April 2000 vol 348 cc498-9W
Mr. John D. Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the use made of the weekly Mojahed publication by(a) the terrorist group Mujaheddin Khalq Organisation of Iran and (b) the National Council of Resistance in Iran; if this publication is registered as a newspaper with the Post Office; and if he will make a statement on the contents of this publication. [119017]

Mr. Battle

This Government's position on both the Mujaheddin-e-Khalq Organisation (MKO) and the National Council for the Resistance of Iran (NCRI) is clear. We do not recognise the NCRI, of which the MKO is the dominant group. The British Government remain firmly opposed to the violence practised by the MKO.

We understand that the Mojahed publication is registered as a newspaper with the Post Office. As long as people do not break our laws, they are free to express views with which we might profoundly disagree.