My Lords, Part 2 of the Terrorism Act 2000 contains a procedure for proscribing organisations that the Secretary of State believes to be "concerned in terrorism". As the Minister stated, this covers any organisation which,

"commits or participates in acts of terrorism, prepares for terrorism, promotes or encourages terrorism, or is otherwise concerned in terrorism".

The list of proscribed organisations is set out in Schedule 2 to the Terrorism Act 2000. The Secretary of State has the power, by order, to add to, remove or amend a name on the list.

Sections 11 and 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000 create a wide range of offences dealing with membership or professed membership of proscribed organisations, the promotion of them and meetings in support of them. Moreover, the grounds for proscription have been widened by the recent Terrorism Act 2006. Under Section 21 of that Act, organisations which "glorify" the commission or preparation of acts of terrorism can also be prescribed.

On 2 July, the Government laid before Parliament this order seeking to proscribe the military wing of Hezbollah in its entirety, including the jihad council and all units reporting to it. If the order is approved by Parliament, it will be a criminal offence to belong to, fundraise and encourage support for the military wing of the organisation.

The Explanatory Memorandum to the order states inter alia:

"Hizballah is actively involved in terrorist related activities. These activities include, but are not limited to, the provision of training and logistical and financial support to terrorist groups in Iraq and Palestine. The military wing of Hizballah is involved in supporting Shia insurgent groups in Iraq to carry out attacks, including against Coalition forces".

During Prime Minister's Questions on 2 July, the right honourable gentleman the Prime Minister told the House:

"To help bring about more general peace in the Middle East, we have been considering what we can do. We have today laid an order before Parliament extending proscription to cover Hezbollah's entire military wing, solely on the grounds of new evidence of its involvement in terrorism in Iraq and the occupied Palestinian territories. Proscription will not affect Hezbollah's legitimate political and social wings, but we continue to call on Hezbollah to end its status as an armed group, to participate in the Lebanese democratic process, and to do so on the same terms as other political parties".—[Hansard, Commons, 2/7/08; col. 860.]

The Government have emphasised that this order will not affect Hezbollah's political, social and humanitarian activities. Introducing the order, the Home Office Minister, the right honourable Tony McNulty, said that proscription of Hezbollah's military wing would not affect the legitimate political, social and humanitarian role Hezbollah plays in the Lebanon but would send out a clear message that the Government condemn Hezbollah's violence and support for terrorism.

With respect to that observation, can the Minister explain how this distinction will work in practice? Can the group be simultaneously legitimate and a terrorist organisation? This suggests two entirely separate wings of Hezbollah that operate independently from each other. Is the Minister confident that this is really the case? In particular, to what extent does Sheikh Nasrallah, Hezbollah's recognised leader and in overall charge of Hezbollah's military activities, have control over Hezbollah politicians within the Lebanese Cabinet?

Will the United Kingdom seek the proscription of Hezbollah's military wing by the European Union? Does the Minister not agree that if the United Kingdom designation is to have any real effect, it needs to be extended to the Union as a whole?

Does the Minister not agree that this move to ban the military wing must be linked to steps to achieve the group's disarmament, without which it will remain an unacceptable threat to Israel and to the security of the region?

What evidence does the Minister have of Hezbollah's fundraising activities in the United Kingdom, and if none, what measures are being taken to identify such activity? The Government's measure falls short of proscribing the whole organisation. Will that not increase the risk of fundraising, supposedly for political and humanitarian purposes, being diverted to Hezbollah's military activities?

In announcing the decision to proscribe the whole military wing of Hezbollah, the Prime Minister said the move was based,

"solely on the grounds of new evidence of its involvement in terrorism in Iraq and the occupied Palestinian territories".—[Hansard, Commons, 2/7/08; col. 860.]

Does the reference to terrorism in Iraq include any specific threat to United Kingdom personnel?

The proposed policy towards Hezbollah contrasts with the Government's approach towards the Tamil Tigers and the Kurdish PKK, both of which are fully proscribed. The right answer, surely, is for the order to impose a complete ban on Hezbollah in the United Kingdom; otherwise, it will continue to be able to raise funds which, and recruit members who, can then be diverted for terrorist purposes.