Ex-police chief says revoking Jihadi bride’s UK citizenship is in country’s ‘best interests’

The 19-year-old, who left the UK to travel to Syria aged 15, branded the move by Home Secretary Sajid Javid as “unjust”.

But Alan McQuillan, one of Northern Ireland’s most senior police figures, said Ms Begum had no place in British society due to her “perverse” beliefs.

Ms Begum, who is currently living in a refugee camp in Syria with her new born son, said she was “a bit shocked”.

She was shown a copy of a Home Office letter setting out the action against her.

“It’s a bit upsetting and frustrating. I feel like it’s a bit unjust on me and my son,” she said.

“It’s kind of heartbreaking to read. My family made it sound like it would be a lot easier for me to come back to the UK when I was speaking to them in Baghuz. It’s kind of hard to swallow.”

Welcoming the Home Secretary’s decision, Mr McQuillan told the News Letter: “We don’t have access to the information that Mr Javid has regarding what Ms Begum did during her time with Islamic State.

“What we do have access to the comments she made publicly. She spoke of how she thought nothing of beheadings that were going on around her and even claimed the Manchester bombing was justified because of air strikes in Syria.

“She has no allegiance to the standards of the British state and our values. There is no doubt the Home Secretary has made the correct decision. Her presence in the UK would not be in the best interests of the public.”

Mr McQuillan said that, should Ms Begum mount a successful legal challenge to the Home Office ruling and be allowed back into the UK, she must be subject to a full investigation to establish if she had committed any criminal offences during her time in Syria.

And he added that, id she were to return to Britain, the safety of her baby son is of “paramount importance”.

He added: “We operate on the basis of law in this country and there are child protection laws. People will be very concerned about the well-being of that child and that he will be exposed to her perverse views.”

Former soldier turned UUP MLA Andy Allen also welcomed the decision to revoke Ms Begum’s British citizenship, adding: “Given that she potentially poses a real threat to the UK, I feel the right decision has been made.

“She ran off to live with a death cult and knew exactly what she was getting involved in. She has to live with the consequences.

“It is a deeply unfortunate situation for her child to be in. You cant choose who your parents are.”

Ms Begum fled the UK in February 2015 with two other girls from the same school in east London.

Last week, she declared that she wanted to come home with her son.

The British Nationality Act 1981 provides the Home Secretary with the power to take such action if it is “conducive to the public good”.

The move prompted speculation that Ms Begum, who is reportedly of Bangladeshi heritage, holds dual nationality or would be eligible for citizenship of another country.

Ms Begum was married 10 days after arriving in Raqqa in 2015 to a Dutchman who had converted to Islam.

She has said she may now seek citizenship in Holland.

Her case has sparked intense debate about the UK’s responsibilities to those seeking to return from Syria.

A protracted legal battle over the move is now looming. International law forbids nations from making people stateless.

However her family’s lawyer Tasnime Akunjee told the Press Association she was born in the UK, has never had a Bangladeshi passport and is not a dual citizen.

Lord Carlile, former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said Ms Begum could challenge the decision, and described it as a “complex issue” that could take a while to resolve.

“It could run for a very long time through the courts,” he told BBC Breakfast. “I suspect that the result is going to be that she will stay where she is for maybe two years at least.”

The Home Office said the Home Secretary “has the power to deprive someone of their British citizenship where it would not render them stateless”, adding: “We do not comment on individual cases, but any decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on all available evidence and not taken lightly.”

Figures for 2017 show that 104 people were deprived of their British citizenship - up from 14 in the previous year.