Momentum for banning the Muslim Brotherhood is building at Westminster, days after Donald Trump ordered his administration to designate specific chapters of the group as terrorist organisations in the US, according to the Express.

Trump's order gives Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent 30 days to report on Brotherhood chapters in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, then 45 days to act, under the Immigration and Nationality Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, per CBS News. Designation freezes assets and criminalises material support for the named branches.

Qatar and Turkey are excluded from the order, even though both "openly embrace, fund and promote Muslim Brotherhood ideology," Middle East security analyst Eric Mandel wrote in JNS, calling the gap a contradiction in Washington's approach.

A review ordered by David Cameron in 2014 and led by diplomat Sir John Jenkins concluded in December 2015 that proscription would likely fail a legal challenge, though it flagged Brotherhood "membership, association with, or influence" as "a possible indicator of extremism," per the Atlantic Council's account of the findings. No ban followed.

The renewed push, aired at the Emirati think tank TRENDS' sixth annual Political Islam Forum, argues proscription alone would not reach the group's funding channels, affiliated charities and digital networks, researcher Hamad Al Hosani said, per the Express.

Hypothesis: a UK ban would confront the same selectivity problem now facing Washington. Egypt, which already outlaws the Brotherhood domestically, would likely welcome it; Qatar, a UK trade and defence partner, and Turkey, a NATO ally, would not. Supporting this: Trump's order already targets weaker states while sparing wealthier patrons. Against this: the Express describes rising parliamentary sentiment, not government policy, and there is no indication the Home Office has reopened the Jenkins findings.

This article explains public policy mechanisms; it is not legal advice on proscription, sanctions or terrorism-financing compliance.

What to watch: whether Washington's designation process extends past Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon; whether Westminster's debate reaches a government minister rather than a forum panel; and whether any British move treats Qatar and Turkey differently than the US has.