Shamima Begum – Priti Patel welcomes Supreme Court backing decision to bar ISIS bride from UK as ‘security threat’
HOME Secretary Priti Patel today welcomed a Supreme Court ruling backing the decision to bar ISIS bride Shamima Begum from the UK.
Ministers stripped the runaway London schoolgirl of her British passport on national security grounds after the fall of the evil Caliphate in Syria.
It sparked a two-year legal battle - and today Britain's most senior judges backed the government's bid to keep her out.
Ms Patel said: “The Supreme Court has unanimously found in favour of the Government’s position, and reaffirmed the Home Secretary’s authority to make vital national security decisions.
“The Government will always take the strongest possible action to protect our national security and our priority remains maintaining the safety and security of our citizens.”
Former Home Secretary Sajid Javid - who took the decision to take away Begum's passport - also praised the judgment.
He said: "I strongly welcome the Supreme Court's ruling on Shamima Begum.
"The Home Secretary is responsible for the security of our citizens and borders, and therefore should have the power to decide whether anyone posing a serious threat to that security can enter our country.
"There are no simple solutions to this situation but any restrictions of rights and freedoms faced by this individual are a direct consequence of the extreme actions that she and others have taken, in violation of government guidance and common morality."
Boris Johnson's spokesman said he was "pleased", adding: "As we've said before, the Government's priority is maintaining our national security.
"Decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are not taken lightly.
"We'll always ensure the safety and security of the UK, and will not allow anything to jeopardise this."
However supporters reacted with dismay after the landmark ruling.
Human rights group Liberty, which intervened in the case, said it sets "an extremely dangerous precedent".
Lawyer Rosie Brighouse said: "The security services have safely managed the returns of hundreds of people from Syria but the Government has chosen to target Shamima Begum.
"This approach does not serve justice, it's a cynical distraction from a failed counter-terror strategy and another example of this Government's disregard for access to justice and the rule of law."
'LEGAL BLACK HOLE'
Maya Foa of human rights group Reprieve said: "Barring Shamima Begum from Britain remains a cynical ploy to make her someone else's responsibility.
"Like many of its European counterparts, the UK is more than capable of bringing home British detainees in Syria, many of whom left as teenagers after being trafficked or groomed online.
"Abandoning them in a legal black hole - in Guantanamo-like conditions - is out of step with British values and the interests of justice and security."
Former Brexit Secretary David Davis said: "Disappointing verdict in the Supreme Court.
"Regardless of what individuals like Shamima Begum have done, the UK cannot simply wash our hands of Brits in the Syrian camps.
"The correct approach would be to return them to the UK to answer for their crimes."
Ahead of the ruling, ex-MI6 boss Sir John Sawyer said Begum should be brought back to face "tough justice".
He told LBC radio: "She was a stupid woman. She made bad decisions as a 15-year-old.
"She and her friends were probably used as a source of sex for ISIS fighters.
"But she should face justice here rather than languish in a camp in the desert."
If Begum had won, it could have paved the way for other ISIS brides to come back from Syria.
Begum was 15 when she left Bethnal Green, East London, and fled to Syria with two other teenagers.
She married ISIS terrorist Yago Riedijk in Raqqa and had three children, who all died.
She was heavily pregnant with her third child when a Times journalist found her in a refugee camp after the fall of the ISIS Caliphate.
Now, 21, she is still in a camp along with other wives who fled the terror group's last stand in Baghouz.
What did Shamima Begum do?
Begum and two pals – Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase – ran away to Syria in February 2015.
Begum used her elder sister’s passport to flee with her Bethnal Green Academy friends.
The trio flew to Turkey and then crossed the border into Syria with the aid of smugglers.
Within weeks of arriving, Shamima was married to Isis jihadi Yago Riedijk, 27, from Holland.
They had two children who died from malnutrition and disease.
The couple were separated as they fled Baghouz, the village where a few hundred Isis fighters were holed up in a desperate last stand.
Shamima ended up in a Kurdish refugee camp where she gave birth to her third child, who also died.
Eldest sister Renu revealed the family had lost contact with her for the “longest time” until .
Last year the Court of Appeal said last year said she should be allowed to return to the UK to pursue her appeal against the passport decision.
But the government challenged the ruling and today a panel of Supreme Court judges unanimously ruled the earlier judgement was wrong.
Lord Reed said allowing her back in "may have serious consequences for the public interest."
He said: "The right to a fair hearing does not trump all other considerations, such as the safety of the public."
He added arresting her on arrival and potentially imposing restrictions under terror laws would not be enough to counter the threat she poses.
The government had argued allowing Begum to return "would create significant national security risks" and expose the public to "an increased risk of terrorism".
It was also feared a Begum victory could open the door for other ISIS brides and fighters to make similar audacious bids to return to Britain.
Setting out the Home Office's case in November, Sir James Eadie QC said the public's safety would be put at "serious risk" if she was allowed back in.
Sir James said those who joined ISIS had been "radicalised and desensitised".
And he pointed to a Times interview where Begum said she had no regrets about joining the death cult and was not fazed by seeing discarded heads in bins.
Shamima also admitted she had sewn ISIS bombers into their suicide vests., and said the Manchester bombing was justified.
Sir James warned judges: "Those who have travelled to align and then have aligned (with ISIS) pose a clear and serious threat specifically on return.”
He added: “The threat would increase significantly if they were to return to the UK.”
When Begum was discovered and stripped of her citizenship, her own dad slammed her choice to run away to join the terror group.
Ahmed Ali, who now loves in Bangladesh, said he was "on the side of the government" and condemned her lack of remorse before claiming he was misquoted.
Begum said her "whole world fell apart" when an ITV crew told her she had lost her British passport.
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She said in 2019: "I’m not the same silly little 15-year-old schoolgirl who ran away from Bethnal Green four years ago.
"I could not endure the suffering and hardship that staying on the battlefield involved.
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"But I was also frightened that the child I am about to give birth to would die like my other children if I stayed on. So I fled the caliphate.
"Now all I want to do is come home to Britain."
