𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

It is an astonishing development. In February 2015, Begum travelled to ISIS-controlled territory in search of what she believed would be an Islamist utopia. Now, a decade on, she appears to think she has found a route back to the country she turned her back on.

Her supporters continue to argue that she was “just a child” and should therefore be treated more leniently. Interestingly, the same crowd that permanently denounces young British men for poor taste tweets seem to think the “just a kid” defence applies when it comes to travelling to live under a terrorist regime.

Let us never forget what ISIS was and is. At the height of its rule, ISIS murdered, raped, and enslaved innocent people across Iraq and Syria. Gay men and women were thrown from buildings and beaten if they survived. Women and girls were sold in slave markets. The group filmed the burning alive of a Jordanian pilot as propaganda. It beggars belief that anyone would willingly leave British freedom to live among such barbarity.

As a general rule, courts have been woeful on border security. But in the case of Begum, the courts have been clear.  Begum was stripped of her British citizenship on national security grounds, and that decision has been upheld all the way to the UK Supreme Court. While she may turn to the European Court of Human Rights, at least UK courts have been clear – she is no longer welcome.

Could Turkey attempt to deport her to Britain? Possibly. Would that automatically give her the right to enter? No. The removal of her citizenship means the UK is under no obligation to admit her.  

What is most striking about this latest reported plan is that Begum appears to believe there is a loophole. There isn’t.

When she travelled to Syria, she made her choice. The United Kingdom has already made its own.