Priti Patel
(Picture: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP)In news which has drawn comparisons to the contentious case of Shamima Begum, the British schoolgirl who fled the country to join Isis in Syria, it’s been reported that a new bill – currently on its way through Parliament - could give the Home Office the power to remove a person’s British citizenship without their knowledge.
The recent proposed change in the Nationality and Borders Bill, reported by The Guardian, states under section nine that the requirement to notify individuals that their citizenship has been revoked “does not apply” if it’s not “reasonably practicable” to do so.
The home secretary, Priti Patel, also wouldn’t need to give notice if it’s “in the interests of national security” or the relationship between the UK and another country, or it’s “otherwise in the public interest”.
The Guardian also reports that the power to remove British citizenship – albeit with notice – was introduced in the aftermath of the London bombings in 2005. The new bill, currently in its report stage in the Commons, removes the requirement to notify the individual in question.
The move has since faced strong criticism online, with Twitter users describing it as “disgusting” and “like something out of a nightmare”.
Remove hers
— Nicola (@Nicola43224144) November 17, 2021
Shamima Begum was a trial run.
— D'Ellerious aka Dog Walker (@D_elleriously) November 17, 2021
Gonna need some opposition to this one lads because this is bleak
— Claudia Boleyn BA 🌹Socialist🌹🇮🇳🏴 (@ClaudiaBoleyn) November 17, 2021
Villains 🤨🇬🇧💀 pic.twitter.com/VsZwLhLulM
— eric rolland (@ejrolland) November 17, 2021
Hostile environment policies never ended we just stopped caring
— 𐎵𐎽𐎯 (@SHJANON) November 17, 2021
This is ridiculous surely they cannot get away with this law.
— rafiq ahmed (@Ahmed007786R) November 17, 2021
If it's happening "quietly" it's because the media and Labour aren't shouting about it loudly enough
— Eddie Cowling (@EdTedC) November 17, 2021
Does this not break international law? If applied consistently and if not applied consistently would surely amount to discrimination?
— Sussed (@Sussed22) November 17, 2021
If a person is born in UK and spent their life in UK, where exactly are they supposed to go when stripped of their citizenship?! If they are a threat to public saftey, why is UK legal system not able to deal with prosecution/ criminal proceedings?
— naturallybronzed (@naturallybronzd) November 17, 2021
Cases like Shamima Begum’s are always test runs, to see how communities will react, to see if they can get away with it. How else did you think this was going to end? Complacency, believing your protections do not need protection, is always dangerous. https://t.co/cFKKsfdk6y
— Yassmin wants to #EndSudanBlackout (@yassmin_a) November 17, 2021
If you are not white get ready to be Shamima Begum'ed. https://t.co/lWgNcGuDqU
— Mukhtar (@Mukhtar_iam) November 17, 2021
“Quietly” here is a misnomer because everybody who saw the Shamima Begun verdict for the Islamophobic mess that it is, as well as the racially motivated changes in British Citizenship laws post-1948 would have known it was only a matter of time that this would happen. https://t.co/gRd4POemA6
— Muslim Dior Poster Girl (@SAMIAFIASCO) November 17, 2021
Fascism it is I guess! https://t.co/U5KGOG3TpF
— Ava Vidal ‘Receipt Queen Strikes Again’ 🇩🇲🇧🇧 (@thetwerkinggirl) November 17, 2021
We told people that the Shamima Begum case was going to lead to this.
— Jack Hancock #JoinAUnion (@1983Jackhancock) November 17, 2021
Nobody cared.
Well done. https://t.co/6AAdEHS7iV
In a statement to the Guardian on Wednesday, a Home Office spokesperson said that British citizenship “is a privilege, not a right”.
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“Deprivation of citizenship on conducive grounds is rightly reserved for those who pose a threat to the UK or whose conduct involves very high harm.
“The nationality and borders bill will amend the law so citizenship can be deprived where it is not practicable to give notice, for example if there is no way of communicating with the person,” they said.
