UK judge orders home secretary to explain opposition to Hamas de-proscription appeal

UK judge orders home secretary to explain opposition to Hamas de-proscription appeal Submitted by Areeb Ullah on Thu, 03/26/2026 - 17:09 Shabana Mahmood has until 20 May to disclose reasons for opposing Hamas's bid to be removed from terror list A banner featuring Abu Obeida, the late spokesman for Hamas's armed wing, in Ain al-Hilweh camp for Palestinian refugees, near Sidon in southern Lebanon, on 19 November 2025 (AFP) Off A British judge has ordered the UK home secretary to “get on with” explaining her opposition to Hamas's appeal to be removed from the list of proscribed terrorist organisations. Hamas, currently proscribed in the UK, is appealing against this designation before the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission (POAC), an independent tribunal. Last April, Mousa Abu Marzouk, the head of Hamas’s foreign relations office, instructed British lawyers to appeal against the UK’s 2021 decision by former Home Secretary Priti Patel to designate the movement as a terrorist organisation.