Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

I was just a dumb kid who made one mistake, says Shamima Begum

SHAMIMA BEGUM still remains at the al-Roj camp in northern Syria with her British citizenship stripped, and in a latest interview for a documentary says she does not need to be rehabilitated.

She said she would rather 'love' to help rehabilitate others.


During the interview with journalist Andrew Drury, she was again seen in western clothes - wearing a leather Nike baseball cap and skinny jeans. She also had her fingernails painted red and was holding on to a fashionable clutch bag.

When Begum was 15, she had left Britain along with two other Bethnal Green schoolgirls to join Daesh (Islamic State group) in 2015.

"I don't think I was a terrorist. I think I was just a dumb kid who made one mistake.

"I personally don't think that I need to be rehabilitated, but I would want to help other people be rehabilitated. I would love to help," she tells Drury who was visiting the camp for the interview.

Why has she stopped wearing hijab and traditional dresses. "I wear these clothes, and I don't wear a hijab, because it makes me happy. And anything in this camp that makes me happy is like a lifesaver," she said.

She added that she liked rapper Kanye West's music, was following news of his divorce from reality TV star Kim Kardashian and watched re-runs of Friends in the camp.

Earlier this year the Supreme Court ruled on national security grounds that she cannot return to Britain to appeal against the removal of her citizenship in 2019.

Drury, interviewing her for a film called Danger Zone, said meeting her had changed his mind about her being a terrorist.

In an earlier interview for the documentary, The Return: Life After ISIS, she had said that the UK government was wrong to remove her citizenship on the basis of radical Islam, and fearing her safety in the camp she restrained herself from condemning Daesh in her much earlier media interactions.

Begum said she and her friends were recruited by Daesh online, who preyed on their guilt at seeing muslims suffering in Syria.

“It was the holidays when I decided to leave with my friends,” she was quoted as saying.

“I knew it was a big decision, but I just felt compelled to do it quickly. I didn’t want to be the friend that was left behind.”

“My mum didn’t see me walking outside of the door. I didn’t hug her, I really regret not hugging her,” she added.

The schoolgirls with whom she fled to Syria – Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana were both killed in the city of Baghuz.

Begum lost two of her children while trying to flee the last-held territory of Daesh. Her third child died shortly after she gave birth to him in the Syrian camp.

“I just really wanted to kill myself, I felt I couldn’t get up anymore, I couldn’t even get up to run when there were bombings. The only thing keeping me alive was my baby that I was pregnant with.”

Lastly, when Drury asked what she would say to those in the UK who do not want her to return, Begum said: "Can I come home please, pretty please?"

More For You

Knife crimes

Knife-enabled crimes include cases where a blade or sharp instrument was used to injure or threaten, including where the weapon was not actually seen.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Knife crime in London accounts for a third of national total: ONS

KNIFE-RELATED crime in London made up almost a third of all such offences recorded in England and Wales in 2024, with the Metropolitan Police logging 16,789 incidents, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

This amounts to one offence every 30 minutes in the capital and represents 31 per cent of the 54,587 knife-enabled crimes reported across England and Wales last year. The total number marks a two per cent rise from 53,413 offences in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Modi

Starmer and Modi shake hands during a bilateral meeting in the sidelines of the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil, on November 18, 2024.

Getty Images

Starmer calls Modi over Kashmir attack; expresses condolences

PRIME MINISER Keir Starmer spoke to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning following the deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam region that killed 26 people on Tuesday.

According to a readout from 10 Downing Street, Starmer said he was horrified by the devastating terrorist attack and expressed deep condolences on behalf of the British people to those affected, their loved ones, and the people of India. The two leaders agreed to stay in touch.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Post Office spent £600m to keep Horizon despite plans to replace it: Report

THE POST OFFICE has spent more than £600 million of public funds to continue using the Horizon IT system, according to a news report.

Despite deciding over a decade ago to move away from the software, the original 1999 contract with Fujitsu prevented the Post Office from doing so, as it did not own the core software code, a BBC investigation shows.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

The prayer meet was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

Mahesh Liloriya

A PRAYER meet was held at the Gandhi Hall in the High Commission of India in London on Thursday (24) to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ rang out at the event which was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK  mini heatwave

Sunny conditions will bring early summer warmth

Getty

UK to see mini heatwave as temperatures climb towards 24 °c

The UK is set for a period of warmer weather in the coming days, with temperatures expected to rise significantly across parts of the country. According to the Met Office, a spell of dry and sunny conditions will bring early summer warmth, although it will fall short of the threshold for an official heatwave.

Temperatures in south-eastern and central England could reach 23°c to 24°c by Tuesday, around 10C above the seasonal average for some areas. The Met Office described this as a “very warm spell” rather than a heatwave, though the contrast with recent cooler weather will be noticeable.

Keep ReadingShow less