A terror watchdog believes Shamima Begum as well as other British women who joined the so-called Islamic state should be allowed to return to the UK.
Jonathan Hall KC, a reviewer of terrorism legislation, intends to argue that British women or those who are former citizens should be able to return from Syria because that is the position taken by the UK's allies such as the United States. He will also raise concerns about a new generation of extremists being reared under the "curb of the caliphate" programme in northern Syria during a speech at King's College London on Monday evening.
Ms Begum was only 15 when she travelled from Bethnal Green, east London, through Turkey and into territory controlled by the terrorist group in 2015. In February 2019, her British citizenship was revoked.
She has since been locked in a legal battle which took a hit last week when she lost the challenge against the decision to strip her of her British citizenship on national security grounds. The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) said it found there was "credible suspicion that Ms Begum was recruited, transferred and then harboured for the purpose of sexual exploitation".
However, the tribunal said this did not prevent the then-home secretary Sajid Javid from revoking her citizenship. Ms Begum is reportedly one of an estimated 60 British women and children held by Kurdish authorities in Syria who have no means of leaving with intervention from the UK government.
In comments first reported by The Times, Mr Hall is expected to say the UK’s “strategic distance” policy of removal of citizenship, limited consular assistance and funding of Kurdish detaining authorities is “at a crossroads”.
He will say that the risk posed by IS has changed and that, as repatriations by other European countries have picked up, the UK is “under the spotlight”.
Mr Hall will acknowledge the concerns about the risk IS Britons could pose but also argue that decisions need to be made and this could come “sooner than expected through US and allied pressure, Turkish military activity, court rulings, or natural disasters such as the recent earthquake”.
He will add: “Compared to men, women are less likely to have travelled for the purpose of fighting; are less likely to have played battlefield roles; may well have had less autonomy in being able to leave; and now make up the majority of those UK-linked individuals detained.
“Women with children may also fear child protection measures being taken against them by Western states, mitigating against further terrorist engagement on return.”
Mr Hall will confess to having “no answer” to those who say this could be discriminatory or “belittles female agency” or fails to recognise the role of female terrorists.
But he will add that statistics have shown men were predominantly involved in terrorism plots.
“For UK-linked children, the less time spent being incubated as cubs of the caliphate, an active IS programme, the better,” he will add.
Read next:
Two women treated by paramedics after crash on busy city centre road
Man held pregnant woman at gunpoint days after failed bank robbery attempt
'Out of control' mob found guilty of brutal street stabbing which claimed life of dad
A year on from war, how Greater Manchester wrapped its arms around Ukraine and her people
