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Shamima Begum is set to find out if she has won an appeal against the removal of her British citizenship.

While still a schoolgirl in east London she travelled to Syria in 2015 to join Islamic State at the age of 15, before her citizenship was revoked on national security grounds shortly after she was found in a refugee camp in 2019.

After a series of legal battles, Ms Begum, now 24, lost her latest challenge at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) in February last year – but took her case to the Court of Appeal in October.

Ms Begum, who remains in a refugee camp in northern Syria, was represented by Samantha Knights KC, who argued the government had failed to consider legal duties owed to a potential victim of trafficking.

However, Sir James Eadie KC, for the Home Office, said the “key feature” of Ms Begum’s case is national security.

The ruling in Ms Begum’s Court of Appeal case is due to be handed down at a short hearing at 10am on Friday.

Shamima Begum. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
Image:
Shamima Begum. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock

Timeline: From Syria to court battles

From departing Gatwick Airport, to awaiting the outcome of various court cases from northern Syria – here’s a breakdown of how Shamima Begum got here.

February 2015

Shamima Begum dropped out of Bethnal Green Academy with friends Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana, having been missing since December 2014.

On 17 February, they all travelled from Gatwick Airport to Istanbul in Turkey and, once in Syria, Ms Begum married a Dutch IS fighter, Yago Riedijk, and had three children with him – who all died.

Ms Begum was said to be an “enforcer” who recruited other women to the caliphate.

2016

Both Ms Abase and Ms Sultana are reported to have died, but the whereabouts and actions of Ms Begum remained unknown until she resurfaced three years later.

February 2019

That’s when a journalist from The Times found her nine months pregnant at al Hawl refugee camp in northern Syria, having fled eastern Syria, where there was fierce fighting in a last stand for IS.

Sky News interviewed her, and she revealed she had just given birth – and was said to be “unrepentant” about joining IS.

In the same month, Sajid Javid, who was home secretary at the time, stripped Ms Begum of her British citizenship – this decision was controversial, as it meant it could have left her stateless.

April 2019

Ms Begum was granted legal aid by the UK Ministry of Justice to appeal Mr Javid’s decision.

February 2020

In a preliminary ruling, the SIAC ruled the decision to deprive Ms Begum of her British citizenship was lawful, adding Ms Begum was “a citizen of Bangladesh by descent” at the time of the decision.

They also found she could not “play any meaningful part in her appeal and that, to that extent, the appeal will not be fair and effective”.

July 2020

Ms Begum therefore turned to the Court of Appeal in a bid to return to the UK for the main challenge of her appeal to the SIAC.

She was given permission by the court to return to the UK and contest the government’s decision to rescind her citizenship – but the Home Office appealed this decision at the Supreme Court.

February 2021

The UK’s highest court then said Ms Begum should not be granted leave to enter the UK to pursue her appeal. She has since been in custody in northern Syria.

November 2021

In November, Sky News met Begum again. She said she didn’t hate the UK when she left, only her own life, and reaffirmed her keenness to return.

November 2022

Ms Begum once again attempts to win the right to travel back to the UK in a five-day trial at the SIAC.

During the hearing, her lawyers said the Home Office has a duty to investigate whether she was a victim of trafficking before stripping her of her British citizenship.

She was “persuaded, influenced and affected with her friends by a determined and effective ISIS propaganda machine”, they argued, but the Home Office stood by its decision to bar her.

February 2023

The SIAC dismissed that appeal on all grounds, ruling Ms Begum will not be allowed to return to the UK and therefore will not able to win back her British passport.

October 2023

Her case went to the Court of Appeal eight months later, where three senior judges were told the Home Office failed to consider legal duties owed to Ms Begum as a potential victim of trafficking.

February 2024

Ms Begum’s latest result is due, with her legal battle unlikely to end here either way.

What are the arguments for and against her return?

Announcing the SIAC decision last February, Mr Justice Jay said “the real merits of Ms Begum’s case” involved her arguments that she had been the victim of trafficking.

The tribunal found there was a “credible suspicion” Ms Begum was “recruited, transferred and then harboured for the purpose of sexual exploitation”.

Ms Knights and Dan Squires KC argued at the Court of Appeal that the UK has failed to have a “full and effective” investigation into how Ms Begum was trafficked.

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‘I didn’t hate Britain, I hated my life’ – Begum

However, the SIAC had also found that Mr Javid was not required to formally consider whether Ms Begum was, or might have been, trafficked when deciding to strip her British citizenship.

Sir James said: “The fact that someone is radicalised, and may have been manipulated, is not inconsistent with the assessment that they pose a national security risk.

“Ms Begum contends that national security should not be a ‘trump’ card.

“But the public should not be exposed to risks to national security because events and circumstances have conspired to give rise to that risk.”

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From ‘straight A student’ to IS bride

Ms Begum, described previously as a straight-A student, arrived in the city of Raqqa in Syria and married a Dutchman and Muslim convert named Yago Riedijk 10 days later.

They had three children – a one-year-old girl, a three-month-old boy and a newborn son – who all died from malnourishment or disease.

FILE - This is a Monday Feb. 23, 2015 file handout image of a three image combo of stills taken from CCTV issued by the Metropolitan Police Kadiza Sultana, left, Shamima Begum, centre and and Amira Abase going through security at Gatwick airport, before they caught their flight to Turkey. The Dutch man who married a British teenager after she ran away to join the Islamic State group says he wants to return home to the Netherlands with Shamima Begum and their newborn son. Yago Riedijk tells the B
Image:
CCTV of Kadiza Sultana, left, Shamima Begum, centre and and Amira Abase going through security at Gatwick airport. Pic: Met Police

Ms Begum left Raqqa with her husband in January 2017, but they were eventually split up, as she claimed he was arrested for spying and tortured.

She was eventually found nine months pregnant in a refugee camp in February 2019 by a Times journalist.

Ms Begum told the reporter it “didn’t faze me at all” when she saw her first “severed head” and would “do anything required just to be able to come home”.

But she added she did not regret travelling to IS-controlled Syria, saying she had a “good time”.

Read more:
IS bride insists she ‘didn’t hate Britain’
The problem with Shamima Begum’s case

By 2021, she had drastically changed her appearance – wearing a Nike baseball cap, a grey vest, a Casio watch and having her fingernails painted pink when she appeared on TV screens.

Ms Begum said there was “no evidence” she was a key player in preparing terrorist acts and was prepared to prove her innocence in court.

“The reason I came to Syria was not for violent reasons,” she told Good Morning Britain in 2021.

“At the time I did not know it was a death cult, I thought it was an Islamic community I was joining,” she added.

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Bradford: One child dies and four other people taken to hospital after house fire

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Bradford: One child dies and four other people taken to hospital after house fire

A child has died in a house fire in Bradford.

A woman and three other children managed to escape the property and are being treated in hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

In a statement, West Yorkshire Police said: “At 1.08 this morning (5 May) police were called by the fire service to reports of a serious house fire on Kingsdale Drive, Bradford.

“A woman and three children managed to escape the property and were taken to hospital for treatment. Their injuries are not life-threatening.

Police at scene of fatal house fire in Bradford
Police at scene of fatal house fire in Bradford

“A fourth child was found inside the address and was sadly pronounced deceased at the scene,” police added.

“A scene is currently in place at the address and police are working with the fire investigators to establish the exact cause of the fire.”

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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Rishi Sunak urges Tories to stick with his leadership after party suffers shock election losses

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Rishi Sunak urges Tories to stick with his leadership after party suffers shock election losses

Rishi Sunak has urged Tories to stick with his leadership despite the Conservatives’ shock defeat in the West Midlands mayoral election, which capped a dire few days of results for the party.

Sir Keir Starmer called it a “phenomenal result” which was “beyond our expectations” as Labour’s Richard Parker ousted Tory incumbent Andy Street, who had held the role for seven years.

The margin of victory was a cruelly tight 1,508 votes, and compounded Conservative disappointment as it followed another loss to Sadiq Khan in London, who secured a record-breaking third term as the capital’s mayor.

Local elections live
The mayoral election results

“People across the country have had enough of Conservative chaos and decline and voted for change with Labour. Our fantastic new mayor Richard Parker stands ready to deliver a fresh start for the West Midlands,” Sir Keir said.

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‘Devastated’ Andy Street refuses to blame Sunak after West Midlands defeat

However, in an effort to win back those who had deserted his party over Labour’s stance on Gaza, he added: “I say directly to those who may have voted Labour in the past but felt that on this occasion that they couldn’t that across the West Midlands we are a proud and diverse community.

“I have heard you. I have listened. And I am determined to meet your concerns and to gain your respect and trust again in the future.”

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Labour suffered losses to independents and George Galloway’s Worker’s Party of Britain in areas with large Islamic populations as a result of the war between Israel and Hamas.

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Starmer speaks at East Midlands victory rally

But the party virtually swept the mayoral elections board across England, winning in Liverpool, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and in Greater Manchester, where Andy Burnham returned to power.

The Tees Valley was the only remaining splash of blue left on the mayoral election map, where Lord Ben Houchen managed to cling to power despite a huge 14.1-point swing to Labour.

Lord Houchen’s victory was also mired by allegations he had sought to distance himself from Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party at large during his campaign.

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Sadiq Khan re-elected as London Mayor

Losing Mr Street, who is widely respected in the Tory Party and had an impressive track record of bringing investment into the West Midlands, is a body blow to the prime minister.

Despite the drubbing, Mr Sunak urged his party to stick with his leadership and his plan for government.

In a statement, he said: “It’s been disappointing of course to lose dedicated Conservative councillors and Andy Street in the West Midlands, with his track record of providing great public services and attracting significant investment to the area, but that has redoubled my resolve to continue to make progress on our plan.

“So we will continue working as hard as ever to take the fight to Labour and deliver a brighter future for our country.”

Pic: Reuters
Image:
Rishi Sunak with Tees Valley mayor Lord Ben Houchen Pic: Reuters

However, Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, was quick to lay the blame for Tory losses firmly at the door of Number 10.

But she said ousting Mr Sunak “won’t work”, adding: “The hole to dig us out of is the PM’s, and it’s time for him to start shovelling.”

She urged him to adopt “strong leadership, not managerialism” on tax, migration, small boats, and law and order.

But Mr Street took a different view, encouraging the party not to veer to the right.

Asked if he is worried the party is drifting to the right and over-emphasising the threat from Reform UK while “ignoring other voters”, the outgoing mayor told Sky News: “I would definitely not advise that drift.

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Analysis of local election and mayoral results

Read more:
Charts tell story of Conservative collapse
Who is the new West Midlands mayor Richard Parker?

“The psychology here is really very straightforward, isn’t it? This is the youngest, most diverse, one of the most urban places in Britain, and we’ve done, many would say, extremely well over a consistent period,” Mr Street said.

“The message is clear: winning from that centre ground is what happens.”

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‘We will give this region a fresh start’ – Labour’s Richard Parker

Results are in from 106 of the 107 councils in England that held elections on 2 May, and Labour has won 1,140 seats, an increase of more than 200.

The Liberal Democrats beat the Tories into second place, winning 521 seats, up nearly 100.

The Tories were just behind on 513 seats, down nearly 400.

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Conservative Andy Street suffers shock loss to Labour in West Midlands mayoral race in blow to Rishi Sunak

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Conservative Andy Street suffers shock loss to Labour in West Midlands mayoral race in blow to Rishi Sunak

Tory incumbent Andy Street has suffered a shock defeat to Labour in the West Midlands mayoral election after a partial recount was ordered.

Labour’s Richard Parker beat Mr Street by just 1,508 votes – 0.25% – to deliver a major blow to Rishi Sunak in the key electoral battleground after a hammering in the local elections.

With the race neck-and-neck, in the end it came down to the results in one borough – Labour-supporting Sandwell.

“This is the most important thing I will ever do,” Mr Parker said in his acceptance speech.

“I promise you that I will deliver jobs,” he added.

He told Sky News he would take buses “back into public control” and deliver the “largest programme of social housing we’ve had in this region for more than 40 years”.

And he thanked his predecessor, who he said had “led this region through a number of great challenges and you deserve great credit for that”.

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Mr Street told Sky News he was “personally devastated”, had “put my all into this”, and “genuinely believed we were making real progress across the region”.

He said it was “my campaign, totally”, adding: “I’m not going to try to push responsibility anywhere else. There’ll be no sloping shoulders from me.”

He wished his successor “all strength and wisdom”.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was a “phenomenal result” and “beyond our expectations”.

He added: “People across the country have had enough of Conservative chaos and decline and voted for change with Labour.

“My changed Labour Party is back in the service of working people, and stands ready to govern.”

Labour's Richard Parker speaks as he is elected as the new Mayor of West Midlands, following the count at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham. Picture date: Saturday May 4, 2024.
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Labour’s Richard Parker has promised to deliver jobs

Local elections live
The mayoral election results

Ellie Reeves, Labour’s deputy national campaign co-ordinator, said it was a “significant victory”.

She added: “Right across the country people have voted for change and the message is clear – it’s time for a general election and a Labour government to get our country’s future back.”

Labour’s Sadiq Khan has secured a historic third term as London mayor with a convincing win over Conservative rival Susan Hall.

These results will increase pressure on the prime minister, who had been hoping for a repeat of the success enjoyed by Conservative Ben Houchen who held on as the mayor of Tees Valley.

Sam Coates, Sky News’s deputy political editor, said he had seen messages from Conservative MPs’ WhatsApp group.

One from former cabinet minister Simon Clarke, whom Coates said “wants Rishi Sunak to leave”, said: “These results are awful and should be a massive wake-up call.

“If we fight the same campaign in a few months [in the general election] we’ll get the same outcome or rather worse.

“Reform UK standing more candidates will cause greater damage.”

Read more:
The winners and losers
Charts tell story of Conservative collapse

Analysis: Labour’s future success is less clear-cut

The loss of either the Teesside or West Midlands mayoralties would give Tory rebels who want to change leader a “huge amount of fuel”, former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said in the Electoral Dysfunction podcast.

Mr Street, who was seeking a third term in office, sought to distance himself from the Conservative brand during his campaign and instead ran on a personal platform.

Sky News recently revealed that Mr Street was sending out election literature with an endorsement from former prime minister Boris Johnson which urged people to “forget about the government”.

His campaign website also made no mention of Mr Sunak on its homepage and was coloured in green rather than Conservative blue.

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