Shamima Begum loses legal case over British citizenship and return to UK
Shamima Begum, who left London when she was 15 to travel to Syria and join Islamic State, has lost a legal case over her British citizenship, meaning she will not be able to return to the UK.
Begum had her British citizenship stripped from her in 2019, on national security grounds by then-home secretary Sajid Javid.
Now aged 23, Begum brought a challenge against the Home Office over the decision to revoke her citizenship, however, it was dismissed by a specialist tribunal.
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) concluded there was “credible suspicion” that Begum was trafficked to Syria for “sexual exploitation” and that there were “arguable breaches of duty” by state bodies in allowing her to travel to the country.
But Mr Justice May said in a summary of the decision that the existence of this suspicion was “insufficient” for her to succeed on her arguments that the deprivation of her British citizenship failed to respect her human rights, adding that given she was now in Syria, the home secretary was not compelled to facilitate her return nor stopped from using “deprivation powers”.
The Home Office has said it is “pleased” with the ruling, while Mr Javid said he “welcomes” it. Begum remains in a refugee camp in northern Syria.
Begum and two other east London schoolgirls travelled to Syria to join IS in 2015. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
At the five-day tribunal hearing last year, Begum’s lawyers said that she was “recruited, transported, transferred, harboured and received in Syria for the purposes of ‘sexual exploitation’ and ‘marriage’ to an adult male”.
They also argued that the Home Office unlawfully failed to consider that she travelled to Syria and remained there “as a victim of child trafficking”.
It has repeatedly asserted she would be a threat to public safety if she is allowed to return to the UK.
On Wednesday, the appeal was dismissed on all nine grounds even though SIAC found there was a “credible suspicion” that Begum had been trafficked to Syria.
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Begum case ‘nowhere near over’, says lawyer
Giving the decision of the tribunal, Mr Justice Jay said that “reasonable people will differ” over the circumstances of Begum’s case.
In its ruling, the panel said: “Essentially, and from the perspective of those responsible for the trafficking, the motive for bringing her to Syria was sexual exploitation to which, as a child, she could not give a valid consent”.
The commission recognised the “considerable force” in submissions advanced on behalf of Begum that the Home Secretary’s conclusion that she travelled voluntarily to Syria was “as stark as it is unsympathetic”.
Mr Justice Jay said: “Further, there is some merit in the argument that those advising the Secretary of State see this as a black and white issue, when many would say that there are shades of grey.”
Speaking after the ruling one of Begum’s lawyers, Daniel Furner, said the legal fight is “nowhere near over”, while lawyer Gareth Pierce added that “there’s no limit to the challenges” that can be undertaken.
Begum and two other east London schoolgirls travelled to Turkey and then to Syria to join the Islamic State terror group in February 2015.
In 2019, she was found at a Syrian refugee camp nine months pregnant and told the media she wished to return to Britain, the country where she was born.
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‘Begum appeal decision a surprise’
In a statement, a Home Office spokeswoman said: “The government’s priority remains maintaining the safety and security of the UK and we will robustly defend any decision made in doing so.”
Read more:
Shamima Begum says she ‘didn’t hate Britain’ when she fled
Begum’s mother says her ‘world fell apart’ when she joined ISIS
Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights director, described the Shamima Begum ruling as a “very disappointing decision”.
When Sky News last spoke to Begum in 2021 in Syria, she said she didn’t hate the UK, just her life at the time she left to join IS, and described living under the caliphate as “hell, hell on earth”.
Begum rejected accusations she carried out atrocities as part of IS as “all completely false”. She also added she expected to go to prison if she was allowed back into the UK.
Martin Lewis says motorists who were mis-sold car finance are likely to receive “hundreds, not thousands of pounds” – with regulators launching a consultation on a new compensation scheme.
The founder of MoneySavingExpert.com believes it is “very likely” that about 40% of Britons who entered personal contact purchase or hire purchase agreements between 2007 and 2021 will be eligible for payouts.
“Discretionary commission arrangements” saw brokers and dealers charge higher levels of interest so they could receive more commission, without telling consumers.
Pics: PA
Speaking to Sky News Radio’s Faye Rowlands, Lewis said: “Very rarely will it be thousands of pounds unless you have more than one car finance deal.
“So up to about a maximum of £950 per car finance deal where you are due compensation.”
Lewis explained that consumers who believe they may have been affected should check whether they had a discretionary commission arrangement by writing to their car finance company.
However, the personal finance guru warned against using a claims firm.
“They’re hardly going to do anything for you and you might get the money paid to you automatically anyway, in which case you’re giving them 30% for nothing,” he added.
Read more: How to tell if you’ve been mis-sold car finance
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Who’s eligible for payout after car finance scandal?
Yesterday, the Financial Conduct Authority said its review of the past use of motor finance “has shown that many firms were not complying with the law or our disclosure rules that were in force when they sold loans to consumers”.
The FCA’s statement added that those affected “should be appropriately compensated in an orderly, consistent and efficient way”.
Lewis told Sky News that the consultation will launch in October – and will take six weeks.
“We expect payouts to come in 2026, assuming this will happen and it’s very likely to happen,” he said.
“As for exactly how will work, it hasn’t decided yet. Firms will have to contact people, although there is an issue about them having destroyed some of the data for older claims.”
He believes claims will either be paid automatically – or affected consumers will need to opt in and apply to get compensation back.
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The FCA estimates the cost of any scheme – including compensation and administrative costs – to be no lower than £9bn.
But in a video on X, Lewis said that millions of people are likely to be due a share of up to £18bn.
The regulator’s announcement comes after the Supreme Court ruled on a separate, but similar, case on Friday.
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