Shamima Begum was a 15-year-old girl when she last set foot in Britain, in 2015. If the judgment of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) stands, Ms Begum will probably never return. Siac, the tribunal that hears immigration cases involving national security issues, upheld the right of the home secretary – Sajid Javid in 2019 – to strip her of UK citizenship because her presence was not “conducive to the public good”.
Many people will think this is a good thing. But Ms Begum makes a strong case that she was lured as a child to be a bride for Islamic State fighters in Syria. She went on to have three children, all of whom died. She lives now in limbo, stateless and detained in a Syrian camp. Her argument that she was not just groomed but trafficked ought to be taken seriously – not least after MPs found that systemic failures by UK public bodies enabled such a trade.
