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BEGUM LOSES Shamima Begum CAN’T return to UK to reclaim British passport as Government wins Supreme Court bid against jihadi bride

BEGUM LOSES Shamima Begum CAN’T return to UK to reclaim British passport as Government wins Supreme Court bid against jihadi bride

 JIHADI bride Shamima Begum has lost her legal battle to return to the UK to appeal over the removal of her British citizenship.

The Supreme Court today uninamously ruled in favour of the Government and said Begum cannot come back to the UK for a court case to reclaim her British passport for the safety of the public.

The Government had fought to stop Shamima Begum being granted the right to come back to appeal after she was stripped of her ­British passport
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The Government had fought to stop Shamima Begum being granted the right to come back to appeal after she was stripped of her ­British passportCredit: Enterprise News and Pictures

Delivering the ruling, Lord Reed savaged a previous judgement by the Court of Appeal and said it had 'made its own assessment of the requirements of [national] security' without any 'relative evidence'.

He said: "The right to a fair hearing does not trump all other considerations, such as the safety of the public.

"If a vital public interest makes it impossible for a case to be fairly heard then the courts cannot ordinarily hear it."

Lord Reed said her legal bid to reclaim her British citizenship should be postponed until she is no longer considered a threat to national security.

He said: "The appropriate response to the problem in the present case is for the deprivation hearing to be stayed - or postponed - until Ms Begum is in a position to play an effective part in it without the safety of the public being compromised.

"That is not a perfect solution, as it is not known how long it may be before that is possible. But there is no perfect solution to a dilemma of the present kind."

Begum was 15 when she left her home in Bethnal Green, East London and fled to Syria to marry an ISIS terrorist.

Then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid revoked her citizenship on national security grounds after she was discovered pregnant in a refugee camp in 2019 and announced she wanted to return to the UK.

Now 21, she has been stuck in northern Syria ever since.

The Court of Appeal last year said she should be allowed to return to the UK to pursue her appeal against the decision.

But the Government challenged the ruling at the Supreme Court and was backed by the highest court in the land today.

Priti Patel argued allowing her to return to the UK "would create significant national security risks" and expose the public to "an increased risk of terrorism".

The Supreme Court ruling stated the Home Secretary's assessment had not been properly considered by the Court of Appeal.

Begum was 15 when she left Bethnal Green in East London and married an ISIS terrorist in Syria
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Begum was 15 when she left Bethnal Green in East London and married an ISIS terrorist in SyriaCredit: James Longman/ABC News
Priti Patel said Begum coming back to the UK 'would create significant national security risks'
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Priti Patel said Begum coming back to the UK 'would create significant national security risks'Credit: Getty Images - Getty
Former Home Secretary Sajid Javid welcomed the Supreme Court's ruling
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Former Home Secretary Sajid Javid welcomed the Supreme Court's ruling

Lord Reed said: "The Court of Appeal's approach did not give the Secretary of State's assessment the respect which it should have received, given that it is the Secretary of State who has been charged by Parliament with responsibility for making such assessments, and who is democratically accountable to Parliament for the discharge of that responsibility.

"In such a case, it would be irresponsible for the court to allow the appeal without any regard to the interests of national security which prompted the decision in question, and it is difficult to conceive that the law would require it to do so."

Welcoming the decision, Sajid Javid said: "The Home Secretary is responsible for the security of our citizens and borders, and therefore should have the power to decide whether anyone posing a serious threat to that security can enter our country."

Human rights group Liberty, which intervened in Ms Begum's case, said the Supreme Court's ruling sets "an extremely dangerous precedent".

Rosie Brighouse, a lawyer with Liberty, said: "The right to a fair trial is not something democratic governments should take away on a whim, and nor is someone's British citizenship.

"This approach does not serve justice, it's a cynical distraction from a failed counter-terror strategy and another example of this Government's disregard for access to justice and the rule of law."

Begum fled to Syria to become a jihadi bride in 2014
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Begum fled to Syria to become a jihadi bride in 2014Credit: PA:Press Association
Her father Ahmed Ali said she should not be allowed back to the UK in 2019
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Her father Ahmed Ali said she should not be allowed back to the UK in 2019Credit: AP:Associated Press

When Begum was discovered and stripped of her citizenship, her own dad slammed her choice to run away to join the terror group.

Ahmed Ali said he was "on the side of the government" and condemned her lack of remorse before claiming he was misquoted.

Had Begum been able to leave the camp in Syria and return to the UK to launch her appeal, it is likely the Government would have struggled to send Begum back to a war-torn country.

Begum was one of three schoolgirls from Bethnal Green Academy who left their homes and families to join ISIS, shortly after Sharmeena Begum - who is no relation - travelled to Syria in December 2014.

Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase, then 16 and 15 respectively, and Ms Begum boarded a flight from Gatwick Airport to Istanbul, Turkey, on February 17 2015, before making their way to Raqqa in Syria.

Begum claims she married Dutch convert Yago Riedijk 10 days after arriving in ISIS territory, with all three of her school friends also reportedly marrying foreign ISIS fighters.

She told The Times last February that she left Raqqa in January 2017 with her husband but her children, a one-year-old girl and a three-month-old boy, had both since died.She said in 2019: "I’m not the same silly little 15-year-old schoolgirl who ran away from Bethnal Green four years ago.

"I could not endure the suffering and hardship that staying on the battlefield involved.

"But I was also frightened that the child I am about to give birth to would die like my other children if I stayed on. So I fled the caliphate. Now all I want to do is come home to Britain."

Shamima Begum has been stuck in a refugee camp in northern Syria since having her British passport revoked
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Shamima Begum has been stuck in a refugee camp in northern Syria since having her British passport revoked
In interviews from Syria, Begum has spoken about her wish to return to the UK
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In interviews from Syria, Begum has spoken about her wish to return to the UKCredit: ITV Press Handout
Begum was a schoolgirl at Bethnal Green Academy in East London when she fled to Syria
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Begum was a schoolgirl at Bethnal Green Academy in East London when she fled to SyriaCredit: PA:Press Association

What did Shamima Begum do?

Begum and two pals – Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase – ran away to Syria in February 2015.

Begum used her elder sister’s passport to flee with her Bethnal Green Academy friends.

The trio flew to Turkey and then crossed the border into Syria with the aid of smugglers.

Within weeks of arriving, Shamima was married to Isis jihadi Yago Riedijk, 27, from Holland.

They had two children who died from malnutrition and disease.

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