Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The law and Shamima Begum

Shamima Begum, the jihadi bride seeking to return to Britain, represents an awful problem for the UK – but isn’t she our problem and shouldn’t we deal with her under our own justice system? How, morally, can we strip her of UK citizenship and dump her on Bangladesh, which she has never visited? James Forsyth’s argument yesterday resonated, especially amongst Tories who agree with him that depriving her of a passport looks like taking the easy way out. I’ve been struck by how many ministers also accept that citizenship deprivation is a pretty bad option – but they think that, in the circumstances, the other options are worse. Here’s how they see it.

Bangladesh’s government says that she is not one of their citizens, leading some to argue that she can sue: that it’s illegal to strip her of her British passport because no one can be made stateless. Government lawyers are relaxed about this. They have many borderline cases but don’t think this is one of them. Yes, Begun does not have a Bangladesh passport – but she’d automatically qualify for one because she is under 21 and both of her parents are from there. Her lawyers don’t dispute this. Under UK law, the government can strip British citizenship from anyone who is eligible for dual nationality. Which she is: not just due to Bangladeshi law, but under Bangladesh’s constitution.

But if she did come back to the UK, would she face justice? This — for Theresa May — is the embarrassing part. There is a pretty low chance of her being jailed for more than a few months. This is because, when Mrs May was Home Secretary, she didn’t pass the laws that would allow successful prosecution of ISIS returnees.

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