Shamima Begum – who left home in east London at the age of 15 to join Islamic State in Syria – will find out today if she is allowed back to the UK.
Back in 2015, Begum was pictured leaving Bethnal Green with two other girls to make the journey to Turkey and then onto Syria, where she joined the caliphate.
Sir James Eadie KC told the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC): “You can be trafficked in the most ghastly, unacceptable way, exposed in the most unacceptable way, desensitised in the most unacceptable way and yet, unfortunately … still be a security threat.
The SIAC will hand down its written judgment over whether she should win back her British citizenship and return to the UK after a lengthy period gathering evidence and testimony from the government and Begum’s family.
But how did Shamima Begum get to this point, and why is her potential return to the UK proving so controversial?
2015
Begum dropped out of school at the Bethnal Green Academy with friends Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana, and on 17 February, travelled from Gatwick Airport to Istanbul in Turkey.
It is thought they were radicalised by someone called Aqsa Mahmood, reported to be the first woman to flee the UK to join Islamic State in Syria two years earlier.
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It is said the girls stole family jewellery to pay for their flights.
Once in Syria, Begum married a Dutch fighter for Islamic State, Yago Riedijk, and had three children with him – all of whom later died.
Begum was said to be an “enforcer” who recruited other women to the caliphate.
Sultana had married an IS fighter with Somalian heritage and was said to have been killed in a Russian attack. Her family told ITV at the time they believed she’d been planning an escape.
Abase was married to an Australian IS fighter and was reportedly killed in coalition strikes – but this has never been confirmed.
2019
The whereabouts or actions of Begum fall quiet between 2016 and 2019, and it was not until a journalist from The Times finds her at a displacement camp that she is seen or heard from.
Begum had fled the village of Baghuz, where there was fierce fighting taking place in a last stand for Islamic State.
When Sky News interviewed her, she had just given birth, and was said to be “unrepentant” about joining IS, but did want to return to the UK.
In February, Sajid Javid, who was the then home secretary, stripped Begum of her British citizenship – though this decision was controversial, as it meant it could have potentially left her stateless, which is in contravention to the United Nations.
It is understood that she also holds Bangladeshi citizenship through her father, but the country made it clear if she went there, she would face the death penalty.
By April, Begum was granted legal aid by the Ministry of Justice to appeal the decision.
2020
Begum is given permission by the Court of Appeal to return to the UK and contest the government’s decision to rescind her British citizenship – but it was not clear at the time how she would do this.
2021
In November, Sky News met with Begum again, where she said she did not hate the UK when she left, only her own life, and reaffirmed her keenness to come back to the UK. She also described living under IS rule as “hell, hell on Earth”, and that she had no part in any of the atrocities carried out by the terrorist group.
Days later, the Supreme Court blocked Begum’s appeal to return home after the government argued that she “would create significant national security risks” and expose the public to “an increased risk of terrorism”.
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November 2021: ‘I didn’t hate Britain, I hated my life’ – Begum
The Home Office, once again, stood by its decision to bar her from entering the UK, while her parents argued that stopping her from coming home contravenes their right to a family life.
Social media companies must face tough sanctions if they fail to keep children safe from harmful content, the technology secretary has said.
Speaking exclusively to Sky News, Peter Kyle said age verification for adult material would have to be “watertight”, and that apps which do not protect children will face heavy fines and even jail time for company bosses.
He was talking ahead of new requirements, to be announced by the regulator Ofcom in mid-January, for platforms to protect children from a wide range of harmful content including bullying, violence, and dangerous stunts.
Apps for adults only will also be required to introduce tighter age verification, via a credit card or ID.
Mr Kyle said: “If they allow the children who are under the age that is appropriate, to view content, then they can face heavy fines and, in some circumstances, they’ll face prison sentences.
“This is the kind of direction of travel you’re going to have with me because I want to make sure kids are kept safe. These are not rules and powers that I’m bringing in just to sit on a shelf.
“These are powers that we’re bringing in for a purpose. At the moment, I accept that parents don’t believe that their kids are safe online because too often they’re not.”
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‘Not enough research’
Mr Kyle said he was “in admiration of what these companies have created” and that lots of organisations, including the government, could learn from the tech sector.
But he added: “I do have a real deep frustration and yes, that could be called anger when it comes to the fact that not enough research has been produced about the impact their products have.
“If I was producing a product that was going to be used ubiquitously throughout society that I knew that children as young as five are going to be accessing it, I would want to be pretty certain that it’s not having a negative impact on young people.”
The Online Safety Act was passed in October 2023 and is being implemented in stages. It will allow companies to be fined up to £18m, or 10% of turnover as well as criminal charges.
In December, the regulator Ofcom set out which content is illegal – including sexual exploitation, fraud and drug and weapons offences.
Mr Kyle said he has no plans for one at this stage, as he met a group of teenagers from across the country at the NSPCC children’s charity to talk about their experiences online.
Some mentioned the “addictiveness” of social media, and coming across “distressing” content. But all were against a ban, highlighting the positives for learning, and of online communities.
The UK chief medical officers reviewed the evidence on harm to children from “screen-based activities” – including social media and gaming – in 2019.
Their report found associations with anxiety and depression, but not enough evidence to prove a causal link. It backed a minimum age of 13 for using these apps.
But the technology secretary has commissioned more research to look at the issue again by next summer, as countries including France and Norway have raised the minimum age to 14 or 15.
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More social media restrictions for under-16s?
Children ‘getting dopamine hits’
Ofcom research last year found nearly a quarter of five-to-seven-year-olds have their own smartphone, with two in five using messaging services such as WhatsApp despite it having a minimum age of 13.
By the time they are 11, more than 90 percent of children have a smartphone.
Lee Fernandes, a psychotherapist specialising in addiction, told Sky News at his London clinic that he has been increasingly treating screen addiction in young adults, some of whose problems began in their teenage years.
“In the last five years, I’ve seen a big increase in addictions relating to technology,” he said.
“I think everyone just thinks it’s mindless scrolling, but we’re habituating children’s minds to be stimulated from using these phones and they’re getting these hits of dopamine, these rewards.”
Social media companies privately say teenagers use over 50 apps a week and argue that app stores should develop a “one-stop shop” rather than ID checks for each individual app.
Some platforms already require teenagers to prove their age through a video selfie or ID check if they attempt to change their age to over-18.
There are also AI models being developed to detect under-18s pretending to be adults. Specific teen accounts by providers including Meta restrict certain messages and content.
A man who was hit in the crotch by a flying brick during a riot in Southport has been jailed.
Brian Spencer was sentenced to two years and six months behind bars after pleading guilty to violent disorder at Liverpool Crown Court.
The unrest happened on 30 July, the day after a mass stabbing targeting children in the Merseyside town in which three young girls were killed. The riot was fuelled by online disinformation about the attack.
Footage shared widely on social media showed Spencer walking up to a line of riot police and putting his hands on his hips before gyrating in front of the officers.
The 40-year-old, from Southport, was then struck in the chest and head by bricks before turning around and walking back towards the crowd.
As he held his head, another brick hit him in the groin and he then hobbled away.
‘Throwing wheelie bins’
Merseyside Police said: “Spencer could be seen acting in an aggressive manner and part of a large group of people who were standing only a few yards in front of officers and throwing bricks.
“He could also be seen on footage punching a police vehicle several times and picking up and throwing wheelie bins at officers and carriers.”
The force also said that later that evening, officers were called to a separate incident where Spencer was, and took him to hospital to be treated for the head injury.
The officers recognised him from the viral footage and he was arrested.
Spencer ‘racially abused patient’
While receiving treatment for his injury, Spencer racially abused another patient at Southport Hospital, police said.
He was also jailed after admitting racially/religiously aggravated harassment.
Some 163 people have now been arrested by Merseyside Police in connection with the disorder, with 117 charges brought and 88 people sentenced to a total of 182 years and four months in prison between them.
Detective Inspector Paula Jones said: “The actions of the people who took part in the disorder were extremely serious and many officers were injured during the despicable scenes as bricks, bins and other missiles were thrown at them.
“Spencer was involved in the violence and will now spend a significant amount of time in prison.”
The founder of an organisation which helps people affected by homelessness has told Sky News that Britain’s rough sleeping crisis is continuing to grow.
Zakia Moulaoui, who started Invisible Cities eight years ago, says many of the resources set up to help the homeless are also seeing their ability to help squeezed when they are needed most.
Invisible Cities is a community interest company that trains people who have experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides of their own city.
It encourages guides to offer personal tours, highlighting stories of real people and raising awareness of social justice.
Speaking at one of its training sessions in Manchester, Zakia said the Christmas period was often the hardest for those experiencing homelessness.
“Having started Invisible Cities in 2016 and compared to now, there’s definitely a rise in the number of people on that journey of homelessness, not only rough sleeping or street homeless, but at any one point in hostels, sofa surfing, in shelters and things like that,” she said.
“At the same time, organisations that exist to support people are more and more strained, funding is smaller and people are at capacity.”
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What does the data say?
Figures released in November showed that, for the second year in a row, England reported an increase in rough sleeping.
The number was up 27% on the previous year.
The number of people sleeping rough is now 61% higher than it was 10 years ago, and 120% higher than when data collection began in 2010.
‘It’s been a rollercoaster ride’
Stephen Agnew, who became homeless as a 10-year-old and spent three decades sleeping rough, now works as one of the Invisible Cities tour guides.
He said: “It has been a rollercoaster ride, it has been ups and downs, but it has been amazing to come out the other end from where I was as a kid to become a tour guide and to get my own place.
“It is just such a different aspect to my childhood.”
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Homeless mum of three: ‘I have nowhere to go’
Invisible Cities currently works with guides in Manchester, York, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Cardiff and has plans to expand to more cities.
Its aim is to help build confidence and public speaking skills in guides and also offer tourists the chance to see a side of a city they otherwise might not have.
‘It helps if you have a goal’
Sky News joined tour guide Andy Mercer for a walk around Manchester.
After a period sleeping rough, he lived in a friend’s garage before finding a way out of homelessness.
He said: “It helps if you have a goal. If you really have nothing and somebody offers you an opportunity, then have a go.
“If you think you might be good at it, if you like talking to the public, then it might be worth having a go.”
As for the tourists he guides around Manchester, he said they “appreciate the fact that I seem to enjoy it because it brings back good memories”.
In his tours, he recounts his stories of the city’s nightlife scene from the 1980s onwards. He says he aims to draw attention to the link that often exists between alcoholism and homelessness.