Ministers cannot go on ignoring the Shamima Begum case, for two important reasons

Shamima Begum in 2021, when she told the BBC about her ‘regret’ at leaving the UK to seek out Islamic State in Syria. Photograph: BBC

While many aspects of UK political polling have shifted drastically since 2019, the public’s view on Shamima Begum has remained largely fixed: a big majority do not want the now 26-year-old woman back in the UK.

In 2019, Sajid Javid, then home secretary, stripped the Londoner of her UK citizenship on the grounds that she was a security threat, having travelled as a schoolgirl with two friends to territory controlled by Islamic State (IS) in Syria. At the time, 76% of people backed the move.