The Labour leader criticised Home Office attempts to strip the teenager of her British citizenship
Plans to deny Shamima Begum the right to return to the United Kingdom after travelling to Syria to join ISIS have been described as an “extreme manoeuvre” by Jeremy Corbyn.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid has come under fire regarding the legality of his attempts to strip Begum of her citizenship. The 19-year-old had only ever held a British passport when she left the country and married an ISIS fighter at the age of 15.
The matter is expected to be the subject of a long legal battle between Begum’s family and the government, with Corbyn stating that he would rather see her return and face questions for her activities in the Syrian War.
He told ITV News on Thursday: “She was born in Britain, she has that right to remain in Britain and obviously a lot of questions she has to answer but also some support that she needs.
“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’s done. And at that point any action may or may not be taken.”
Since the initial announcement, Javid has attempted to calm questions over whether Begum would be made stateless by their actions, with Bangladeshi authorities stating that she has no right to reside in the Asian country despite her family origins.
Corbyn continued: “I think the idea of stripping anyone of their citizenship when they were born in Britain is a very extreme manoeuvre.
“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.”
Begum gave birth to a baby boy earlier in the week and remains in a refugee camp in northern Syria after fleeing ISIS-held territory before it was recaptured by allied forces.
