Herts Reform UK calls for cancellation of kids’ camp with ‘clear and troubling ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Regime’

Hertford and Stortford Reform UK leader John Burmicz has joined his counterparts across Hertfordshire to call for a kids’ camp with “clear and troubling ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Regime” to be cancelled.

They have called on Phasels Wood Activity Centre to stop the Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission (AIM) event.

Representatives of 11 Reform UK branches in Hertfordshire signed a letter to the managers of the centre, near Kings Langley, which is run by the Scouts.

Camp Wilayah, set to be held at the activity centre from August 22 to 25 for nine- to 14-year-olds, is described by AIM as “an amazing place to enjoy the outdoors, make new friends, learn and build on Islamic values”.

Children attending will take part in activities including archery, climbing, abseiling, prayers, lectures and campfires.

The Reform UK letter, led by South West Hertfordshire branch chair Keith Steers, said: “The decision to host Camp Wilayah at this site is not just inappropriate, it is a grave betrayal of everything the Scout movement stands for.

“Camp Wilayah is not an innocent cultural gathering. It is the ideological outreach arm of AIM.

“By offering sanctuary to Camp Wilayah, you align yourselves not with Baden-Powell or the Scout Law, but with tyranny.

“This is not merely a policy error. It is a moral failure, a dereliction of duty to country and a stain upon your stewardship.”

Among the videos shared on AIM’s social media accounts is a call for viewers to read a book by Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader.

Viewers are told: “Instead of learning about Ayatollah… Khamenei from the Zionist propaganda stations masquerading as news who have pumped this propaganda in our minds for generations, learn about him for yourself.

“You will find that the person you were taught to hate and the religion you were taught to hate are nothing like the fake Islam that the Zionists and their allies have used to brand Islam as a religion of terror.”

Overlays on the video suggest it is referring to the BBC, Sky News and CNN as “Zionist propaganda stations”.

Reform UK’s letter claimed that AIM also “glorify” Qassem Soleimani, who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps until he was assassinated by the United States in 2020.

Their letter also noted that hijab must be “maintained at all times” at Camp Wilayah, and that boys and girls will largely be segregated.

Cllr Doug Bainbridge, Reform UK’s group leader at Hertfordshire County Council, said he had met with council officers earlier this week and “made his views known”.

A county council spokesperson said: “Whilst private events of this type do not need the council’s permission to operate, we take the safety and wellbeing of children and residents in Hertfordshire very seriously and are seeking confirmation that Camp Wilayah has safeguarding policies and procedures in place.

“We will continue to work closely with our partners to consider the concerns raised, and any further information we receive, to ensure they are dealt with appropriately.”

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire police said the force was “aware” of the event and was “linked in with local authority partners”.

An AIM spokesperson described the Reform UK letter as “a politically motivated attempt to smear a lawful, faith-based programme that has operated safely and successfully for over a decade at Phasels Wood”.

They continued: “Camp Wilayah is not a space for indoctrination or radicalisation.

“It has never promoted hatred of any kind, and no incident has ever been cited nor any evidence presented to suggest a problem at the camp.

“All staff are DBS-checked, trained in safeguarding and understand their responsibilities.

“We have no relationship with the government of Iran or any other foreign country.

“We are an independent organisation, guided by our values and mission to serve and uplift. Attempts to suggest otherwise reflect deeply rooted biases. AIM is a faith-based organisation guided by the teachings of Islam.”

The camp has previously been criticised by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), a legal lobby group, which said it represented an “exploitation of cultural education” as “a way of embedding ideological allegiance at a formative age”.

UKLFI also accused AIM of using social media “to disseminate extremist content that is anti-Semitic and conspiratorial”.

Others to have raised concerns about the camp include Conservative Herts county councillor Caroline Clapper, who said she “shares the deep concerns many are expressing”, and Lord Walney, the Government’s former extremism adviser, who said: “It is deeply alarming that schoolchildren are being taken to these camps.

“We cannot allow propaganda and influence from this theocratic dictatorship to be spread to children in the UK. This raises further questions about the influence of Iran here in the UK.”