Wagner to be declared terrorist organisation by UK

Wagner, the Russian mercenary group, is set to be proscribed as a terrorist group by the UK government - meaning it will be illegal to be a member or support the organisation.

A draft order to be laid in Parliament will allow its assets to be categorised as terrorist property and seized.

The home secretary said Wagner was "violent and destructive... a military tool of Vladimir Putin's Russia".

She said its work in Ukraine and Africa was a "threat to global security".

Suella Braverman added: "Wagner's continuing destabilising activities only continue to serve the Kremlin's political goals."

"They are terrorists, plain and simple - and this proscription order makes that clear in UK law."

Wagner had played a key role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as operating in countries in Africa including Syria, Libya and Mali.

Its future was thrown into uncertainty after its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin staged a failed coup against Russia's military leader.

The group's name will now be added alongside other proscribed organisations in the UK such as Hamas and Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

The Terrorism Act 2000 gives the home secretary the power to proscribe an organisation if they believe it is concerned in terrorism.

The proscription order will make it a criminal offence to support the group - including by arranging a meeting aimed at furthering the organisation's activities.

Committing a proscription offence could lead to 14 years in prison or a fine of up to £5,000.

Earlier this year, Labour's shadow foreign secretary David Lammy urged the government to proscribe Wagner.

"The Wagner Group is responsible for the appalling atrocities in Ukraine and across the world," he said.

"No one in the UK should be allowed to belong to the Wagner Group, support it or promote it."