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Shabana Mahmood has vowed to fight European judges over Shamima Begum’s bid to return to the UK.

The jihadi bride’s hopes of leaving Syria were revived after European judges challenged Britain’s stance in the bombshell case.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has formally told the Home Office to justify its decision to strip the ISIS fanatic of her British citizenship.

But Home Secretary Ms Mahmood insisted the Government would continue to defend its position, insisting every UK court had ruled the move legal.

Facing questions over the controversy on Monday, the Home Secretary said: “The case against Shamima Begum has been litigated by the previous Government all the way to the UK Supreme Court, who did not hear the last appeal on this because all legal questions have been now dealt with.

“We have accepted that position as a Government on this case. That will not change. We will robustly defend this at the European Court of Human Rights. That is the approach this Government is taking and we will defend the position that has already been set out by all of our courts right up to the UK Supreme Court.”

Ms Mahmood was facing questions from Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp in Parliament.

Mr Philp told the Daily Express: “Shamima Begum chose to go to Syria and support Daesh which is a murderous, violent terrorist regime who brutally murdered their opponents and raped thousands of women and girls.

“People who support that kind of organisation are not welcome in the UK. It’s deeply worrying the European Court of Human Rights is now looking at using the ECHR to make the UK take her back. The government must fight to keep her out of the country. This case is a further reason why we need to leave the ECHR.”

Shadow Home Office minister Katie Lam added: “Once again we see a foreign court in Strasbourg trying to get in the way of keeping the British public safe.

“Shamima Begum made a conscious decision to leave this country and align herself with one of the most barbaric terrorist organisations on earth. She turned her back on Britain, on our values, and on the rights of others.

“The decision to strip her of her citizenship was lawful, considered, and repeatedly upheld by our own courts. We cannot allow a dangerous precedent where those who chose extremism are rewarded with endless legal process, while British victims of terrorism are forgotten. The UK, not Strasbourg, must decide who has the right to live here.”

Ms Begum’s lawyers branded the move an “unprecedented opportunity” as it paves the way for a fresh clash between the UK and Strasbourg. ECHR judges have asked the Government whether it broke human rights and anti-trafficking laws, Ms Begum’s key legal argument.

The formal “communication” between the ECtHR and Home Office will reignite fears Begum could eventually be allowed to travel back to the UK. It signals that Strasbourg believes Ms Begum’s human rights may have been breached. Many cases submitted to the court are thrown out before they reach this stage.

Begum was born and raised in Bethnal Green, east London, before travelling to Syria aged 15 with two other school friends to join IS in 2015.

She later became a child bride to Dutch Islamic convert Yago Riedijk, with whom she had three children who all died as infants.

In 2019, the then home secretary Sajid Javid stripped her of British citizenship on the basis that she could also claim citizenship in Bangladesh so would not be stateless – a decision later upheld by the UK’s Supreme Court.

Now 26, Begum is still living in the al-Roj camp, which is home to thousands of former jihadis, after losing all of her appeals in the UK. The court’s final rulings are technically binding, but there is no enforcement mechanism.

This could create a showdown between the Labour Government and the ECtHR.