IN 2015, Shamima Begum left her friends, her family and her future in East London and boarded a plane to Turkey.
Her final destination was Syria, and her intention to join ISIS, a jihadi death cult.
Over the next few years, ISIS raped and murdered their way across the Middle East.
As their barbaric wave of extremism and beheadings spread, Shamima chose to remain a part of it. She chose to stay.
Begum may have initially joined as a child, but she eventually became involved in criminal activities. Despite the decline of ISIS and the loss of their Middle Eastern territories in 2019, she remained affiliated with the group.
When a reporter finally found her in a Syrian refugee camp, she told him that she ‘didn’t regret coming here’.
She nonchalantly recounted encountering a severed head, claiming it didn’t affect her as it belonged to an ‘enemy of Islam’. Following this, she expressed a desire to go back to the UK.
However, her wish was never granted. Then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid, consistent with decisions made in 2015 and throughout the conflict, revoked her British citizenship and prevented her repatriation.
He said at the time that he would not hesitate to remove someone’s nationality if it was the only option left to him to protect those living in the UK.
It was the right call then. It would be the right call now.
That’s why I was surprised that last week, Nigel Farage softened his position on Begum and those like her, saying that he was ‘thoughtful’, and that he didn’t ‘classify her as… an all-out ISIS killer.’
Unlike the current government, who seem more preoccupied with pleasing foreign dictators than protecting British security, the Conservative Government always said that security comes first.
That’s because we believed that the first duty of Government was to protect the British people.
The decision to strip someone of their citizenship is not taken lightly.
It is only made after careful consideration of intelligence from the security services and counter-terrorism police.
It would not have been made if Begum presented no threat to the UK or the British people.
As the ongoing row over the Chagos Islands demonstrates, the UK Government will always face pressure from lawyers and campaign groups to relegate our national security to the backseat, and bow to their demands.
We need be clear whose interests we put first. For me, that’s the security of our friends and family.
That’s the first duty of our government and that means choosing to keep Begum out.
