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A Labour MP hosted a man at the centre of a terror group probe in parliament just weeks before his arrest, Sky News can reveal.

Agit Karatas is one of six people who were charged on Tuesday with being members of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) after an investigation by counter-terrorism police in London.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the PKK, has been a proscribed organisation since 2001 for its advocation of Kurdish self-rule through both political and armed struggle.

Karatas, a 23-year-old Kurdish rights campaigner, is part of the Centre for Kurdish Progress, a long-established group with links to MPs.

Pic: @APPGKurds
Image:
Agit Karatas (second from right) at the APPG meeting. Pic: @APPGKurds

In October this year, he was given access to the parliamentary estate for the first meeting of a new All-Party Parliamentary Group, the APPG on Kurds, chaired by Labour MP for Exeter, Steve Race.

The group is cross-party, with Conservative MP Matt Vickers named as vice-chair – although he was not at the meeting – and parliamentarians from across the political spectrum listed as members.

In attendance at the meeting were Labour’s first Kurdish MP and science minister Feryal Clark, Labour MP Afzal Khan, Independent MP Shockat Adam and Lord Michael Cashman.

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Addressing the room, Karatas said the APPG would arrange for “a delegation to Iraq and Syria upon which MPs and UK officials can meet officials in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and in North East Syria”.

He was also linked to a previous APPG on Kurdistan in Turkey and Syria, which was chaired by former Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle.

His access to parliament is via the Centre for Kurdish Progress, founded by Ibrahim Dogus, who is well-known in Westminster through the annual kebab awards, which is often attended by high-profile political figures.

Mr Dogus is also a Labour councillor who has stood as a parliamentary candidate twice for the party, in 2017 and 2019.

Karatas was one of two women and four men charged on Tuesday with being PKK members after being arrested and detained under the Terrorism Act 2000 on 27 November.

Sky News approached Mr Race and the Labour Party but they declined to comment.

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Former rugby player sentenced for $900K crypto mining Ponzi

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Former rugby player sentenced for 0K crypto mining Ponzi

Former rugby player sentenced for 0K crypto mining Ponzi

Former rugby player Shane Donovan Moore was sentenced to 2.5 years in US federal prison for running a $900,000 crypto mining Ponzi scheme.

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The ‘£7bn’ government secret

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The '£7bn' government secret

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈

Who knew what about the Afghan data leak? And could anyone in parliament have done more to help scrutinise the government at the time of the superinjunction? Harriet thinks so.

So in this episode, Beth, Ruth, and Harriet talk about the massive breach, the secret court hearings, and the constitutional chaos it’s unleashed.

Plus – the fallout from the latest Labour rebellion. Four MPs have lost the whip – officially for repeated defiance, but unofficially? A government source called it “persistent knobheadery”.

So is Keir Starmer tightening his grip or losing control? And how does this compare to rebellions of Labour past?

Oh and singer Chesney Hawkes gets an unexpected mention.

Responding to claims in the podcast about whether Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle could have scrutinised the government, a Commons spokesperson said: “As has been made clear, Mr Speaker was himself under a superinjunction, and so would have been under severe legal restrictions regarding speaking about this. He would have had no awareness which organisations or individuals were and were not already aware of this matter.

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“The injunction could not constrain proceedings in parliament and between being served with the injunction in September 2023 and the 2024 General Election Mr Speaker granted four UQs on matters relating to Afghan refugees and resettlement schemes.

“Furthermore, as set out in the Justice and Security Act 2013, the Speaker has no powers to refer matters to the Intelligence and Security Committee.”

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GENIUS Act heads to Trump’s desk: Here’s what will change

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GENIUS Act heads to Trump’s desk: Here’s what will change

GENIUS Act heads to Trump’s desk: Here’s what will change

The stablecoin-regulating GENIUS Act is headed to Donald Trump’s desk, which is expected to shake up how stablecoins operate in the US and abroad.

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