There are times when politicians must not bow to the mob and it is to Jeremy Corbyn credit that he has not done so by stating that Shamima Begum, who left the UK to join the Islamic State group in Syria aged 15, has a "right to return to Britain",
Ms Begum has had her UK citizenship revoked by Home Secretary Sajid Javid - a move Mr Corbyn said was "extreme".
The leader of the opposition told ITV News the 19-year-old should return to the UK to face questioning.
Ms Begum told Sky News on Thursday she was "willing to change" and called for "mercy" from British politicians.
UK nationals can only have their citizenship revoked if they are eligible for citizenship elsewhere.
It is thought Ms Begum could be a Bangladeshi citizen because her mother is believed to be one.
However, Bangladesh's ministry of foreign affairs has said Ms Begum is not a Bangladeshi citizen and there was "no question" of her being allowed into the country.
Mr Corbyn, who is currently in Brussels to discuss his Brexit proposals, said: "She obviously has, in my view, a right to return to Britain.
"On that return she must obviously face a lot of questions about everything she has done and at that point any action may or may not be taken.
"But I think the idea of stripping somebody of their citizenship when they were born in Britain is a very extreme manoeuvre indeed.
"Indeed, I questioned the right of the home secretary to have these powers when the original law was brought in by Theresa May when she was home secretary.
Mr Javid has defended the move, which followed a debate over whether the teenager should be able to return to the UK after she was found in a Syrian refugee camp.
Ms Begum, who left east London in 2015, said she never sought to be an IS "poster girl" and now simply wished to raise her child quietly in the UK.
The home secretary said he would not leave an individual stateless, which is illegal under international law.
Predictably there was a response illustrated by former Tory leader in the Welsh Assembly Andrew R. T Davies
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn sides with a terrorist - what's new?!
This is a disgraceful smear on a man who simply wants the UK to obey International Law and Plaid Cymtu's Westminster Leader summed it up
s Feb 19If the rights of this British citizen are at the disposal of populist politicians,
only one question remains:-
‘Who next?’
A Fifteen year old was some how influenced to join two friends ( who are now dead) to go and join a murderous cult and the British government do not take responsibility for her actions.
Much has been made of Ms Begum's apparent lack of remorse , but perhaps we should take into account her current circumstances , where she is in a refugee camp sou rounded by possible ISIS supporters .
Indeed the first act of the UK government should have been to move her to a safe space , so that she is not at the mercy of fanatics.
The opportunity to bring Ms Bergum back and after being interviewed and possible prosecuted , should be taken to explain to others the consequences of listening to extremist speakers.
As this Tweet states
- Liz Saville Roberts AS/MP RetweetedI’m British, born in Birmingham to a family that has worked for the British Army in 3 continents & I have worked tirelessly to keep my fellow citizens safe Is my citizenship conditional? When the torchbearers & pitchforks come for me, who will protect me?
- Liz Saville Roberts AS/MP RetweetedMy View: She is OUR problem & like tons of alleged criminals WE deliver justice to them Even extremists later protect us in deradicalising others It’s probably illegal 100s of others have returned - where is consistency? Pres Assad’s wife still has her British citizenshipazir afzal added,
Shamima Begum is our responsibility we cannot walk away from it . Indeed we should look at ways to deradiclise her and others.
This is not the case of forgiving Shamima Begum or any others who went to join ISSIS no matter how young.
But if we want to stop it in the future then we should not resort to crude racism as we have seen from part of the UK Media , Politicians and its Citizens,
1 comment:
George Osborne said the same as Corbyn in the online Evening Standard editorial he wrote yesterday.
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