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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Bill McLoughlin

Shamima Begum begs for UK return in order to help fight terrorism

Shamima Begum says she should be allowed to return to the UK in order to help fight terrorism.

Begum, who fled the UK at the age of 15 to join ISIS, said she had the perfect skills needed to fight terrorism.

Speaking from the al-Roj prison camp in Syria, the 22-year-old claimed the fight against terrorism is not a “one-man job”.

Begum also spoke of her fear at living in a prison camp but insisted she has reformed her ways since she joined the terrorist group in 2015.

She told GB News: “I actually think it’s important that they know so that they can prevent it.

“The fight against terrorism is not a one-man job, it’s multiple people with multiple skills.”

When asked to give a private message to her family, Begum refused to do so as she wanted to respect her family’s privacy.

Shamima Begum left the UK in 2015 to join ISIS (File/PA) (PA Wire)

She added: “If I give a message to my family I want it to be face to face not over the media, that’s very private.

“My family are very private people and I respect their privacy.”

Begum was stripped of her citizenship in 2019, and last February, the Supreme Court ruled she cannot return to the UK on security grounds.

The east London schoolgirl fled the UK with two others and is the only one of the three known to be still alive.

The Evening Standard has approached the Home Office for comment.

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