Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Shamima Begum challenges UK citizenship revocation

She left Britain for Syria in 2015 to marry a Daesh jihadist fighter when she was a teenager

Shamima Begum challenges UK citizenship revocation

SHAMIMA BEGUM, who left Britain to marry a Daesh (Islamic State group) jihadist fighter when she was a teenager began her appeal against the revocation of her citizenship in a UK court on Tuesday (24).

A lawyer for Shamima Begum, 24, told the Court of Appeal in London that the Home Office had failed to consider its legal duties owed to her client as a potential victim of trafficking.

"The appellant's trafficking was a mandatory, relevant consideration in determining whether it was conducive to the public good and proportionate to deprive her of citizenship, but it was not considered by the Home Office," Samantha Knights said in a written submission to the court.

"As a consequence, the deprivation decision was unlawful."

Begum was 15 when she left her east London home for Syria with two school friends in 2015.

While there, she married a Daesh fighter and had three children, none of whom survived.

In February 2019, Begum said she was left stateless when UK home secretary at the time, Sajid Javid, revoked her British citizenship on national security grounds after she was found in a Syrian refugee camp.

Shamima GettyImages 464126674 scaled Renu, the eldest sister of Shamima Begum, holds a picture of her sister while being interviewed by the media in central London, on February 22, 2015. (Photo by LAURA LEAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)



A UK tribunal ruled in 2020 that she was not stateless because she was "a citizen of Bangladesh by descent" when the decision was made, by virtue of her Bangladeshi mother.

Earlier this year, Begum lost a challenge against the decision at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC).

The SIAC said that while there was a "credible suspicion that Begum was recruited, transferred and then harboured for the purpose of sexual exploitation", this did not prevent Javid from removing her citizenship.

The ruling meant that Begum could not return to the UK from her current home, a refugee camp in northern Syria.

Lawyers for the Home Office, who are scheduled to begin oral arguments on Wednesday (25), told the court that SIAC's conclusion was correct.

"The fact that someone is radicalised, and may have been manipulated, is not inconsistent with the assessment that they pose a national security risk," James Eadie said in written submissions for the department.

The hearing is set to conclude on Thursday (26), with a decision expected at a later date.

Begum is one of hundreds of Europeans whose fate has challenged governments following the 2019 collapse of the Islamist extremists' self-styled caliphate.

Knights told the five-day SIAC hearing last November that her client had been "influenced" along with her friends by a "determined and effective" Daesh "propaganda machine".

Around 900 people are estimated to have travelled from Britain to Syria and Iraq to join Daesh. Of those, around 150 are believed to have been stripped of their citizenship, according to government figures.

More For You

Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case
Bhim Kohli

Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case

THE seven-year prison sentence handed to a 15-year-old boy convicted of the manslaughter of 80-year-old Bhim Sen Kohli is to be reviewed under the UK’s Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

The Attorney General’s Office confirmed on Friday (5) that the teenager’s sentence will now be considered by the Court of Appeal.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama attends a prayer meet held for his long life at the Dalai Lama temple in the northern hill town of Dharamshala, India, July 5, 2025. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

THE Dalai Lama said on Saturday (5) he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking during a ceremony organised by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday (6), and as China insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama told Reuters in December he might live to 110.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK heatwave by mid-July

Daytime temperatures meeting or exceeding set thresholds of 25°C

iStock

Met Office warns of potential third UK heatwave by mid-July

Key points

  • Met Office forecasts rising temperatures by mid-July
  • Possible third heatwave after record-breaking June
  • High pressure system likely to bring hot air from the Atlantic
  • Yellow rain warning and flood alerts issued in parts of Scotland and Cumbria

Possible heatwave to return by mid-July

The UK could experience its third heatwave in a month by mid-July, the Met Office has said. Forecasters expect rising heat and humidity during the second weekend of July, following two weekends of unusually warm weather in late June.

June was officially the hottest on record in England, and the return of high temperatures could mean another heatwave for parts of the country. However, the Met Office cautioned that it is too early to confirm how hot conditions will get.

Keep ReadingShow less
crypto

Two men have been jailed for defrauding investors of £1.5 million through a fake crypto investment scheme. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Two jailed over £1.5m crypto investment scam

TWO people who duped investors of £1.5 million by selling fake investments in crypto have been jailed for 12 years, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.

Raymondip Bedi, of Bromley, and Patrick Mavanga, of Peckham, conned at least 65 people by cold-calling them between February 2017 and June 2019. They operated companies including CCX Capital and Astaria Group LLP.

Keep ReadingShow less
Manchester Police probes over 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects

Photo for representation. (iStock)

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Manchester Police probes over 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects

GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE is now investigating more than 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects, following years of public criticism and institutional failings in tackling child sexual exploitation.

A new report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has revealed the force has made “significant improvements” in dealing with group-based sexual abuse and related crimes.

Keep ReadingShow less