MB review delayed to avert anger at UK by foreign governments

Ian Black in The Guardian today reports on the delays envisaged to the publication of another sensitive report by the Government months after the work is said to have been completed.

As with the Chilcot Inquiry report, which has suffered considerable delays to its publication despite evidence hearings having concluded many months ago, the Government is now delaying the findings of its review into the Muslim Brotherhood amidst claims that the conclusions have not lived up to the expectations of foreign governments in whose interests the review was said to have been established.

The review, presided over by the UK’s former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Sir John Jenkins, was to explore “the philosophy, activities, impact and influence on UK national interests, at home and abroad, of the Muslim Brotherhood and of government policy towards the organization.”

Earlier this year it was reported that the report’s publication had been deferred with a Whitehall official telling the Financial Times that “Sir John will say that the Brotherhood is not a terrorist organisation. The Saudis and Emiratis will then be very upset with us.”

Ian Black affirms much the same in today’s Guardian stating, “The twist in this bureaucratic tale is that Jenkins finished the job months ago and the government has been struggling ever since over how to translate his findings into policy recommendations. Nothing has been found to justify the accusation that the Brotherhood is involved in terrorism —something it strenuously denies.”

The publication of a list of proscribed organisations by the United Arab Emirates which included organisations that are linked to the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) is a clear indication of the UAE’s orientation with its attempt to lump MB linked associations with terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State.

This broad brush approach has been criticised by organisations that have been designated as proscribed by the UAE. The White House earlier this month issued a statement in response to the listing of US-based advocacy organisations on the list stating the US Government had “not seen credible evidence that the Muslim Brotherhood has renounced its decades-long commitment to non-violence.”

The delay to the publication of the review into the Muslim Brotherhood has run into the same difficulties as the Chilcot Inquiry with the approaching general election casting doubt on the likely publication of either before May 2015. In the meantime, the electorate awaits answers to poignant questions about the UK Government’s possible involvement in torture, rendition, human rights violations and the undermining of democracy at home and abroad.