Will Shamima Begum ever return to the UK?

The former Isis bride made another plea to be allowed to return to the UK in a TV interview on Wednesday. Sean O’Grady considers why the government is in a strong position to reject her requests – for now, at least

Stateless and publicity-hungry, and with a media hungry for her story, Begum will remain a constant distraction for as long as her status and the question of her guilt remain unresolved (UK)

Shamima Begum, even with her new image, can be no one’s idea of a poster girl for human rights. Although never tried, let alone convicted, she did travel to Syria to assist Isis, married a terrorist and, it is claimed by some, engaged in or supported gruesome acts of violence by others. This, the allegations go, included a spell as an enforcer in the Isis religious police force, and stitching vests onto suicide bombers so the vests could not be removed without detonating the explosives. Although 15 when she travelled, and was possibly brainwashed, she was, by all accounts, conscious of her actions, not suffering from any conventional mental incapacity and well above the legal age of responsibility.

In the court of public opinion she hasn’t made a great start. She now says, not for the first time, that she is sorry for her actions, and wants forgiveness. She would also like her British citizenship, removed by the government, reinstated so that she can return to the place she calls home, and, possibly, stand trial. The public remain, as far as can be judged, unmoved by her appeals, and so is the government. Sajid Javid says he has no regrets about his decision as home secretary to deprive her of her citizenship and re-entry on the grounds that she was a threat to national security.

Yet the appeal to public opinion is all she has. After a lengthy series of cases and appeals, the Supreme Court finally rejected her pleas, and that is pretty much that. This marked an unusual victory for the government in that the usual pattern is for the government to push things to the limit, and behind, and then find the law or the courts thwarting what is sometimes called “the will of the people”. The most spectacular case was the unlawful prorogation of parliament in 2019, but laws, international treaties and conventions have also frustrated their freedom of movement on Brexit more generally (especially the Northern Ireland protocol), the refugees crossing the English Channel to seek asylum, and the various watchdogs who have named and shamed ministers for their conduct in office, including Priti Patel, Matt Hancock and Boris Johnson himself.

In the matter of Shamima Begum, then, the government is in a strong position legally and politically. Certainly ministers would find themselves under severe pressure from their party and much of the media if they softened the line.

Yet Ms Begum, stateless and publicity-hungry, and with a media hungry for her story, will remain a constant distraction for as long as her status and the question of her guilt remain unresolved. She will not, in other words, fade away, because she can’t even if she wanted to, which plainly she does not. Perhaps her story will diminish in interest and importance, but the UK can’t actually free itself of its association with her through ministerial decree. It is not as simple as that. As the years drag on so will her pleas to let her return, and some other legal manoeuvres may yet emerge. As things stand she is marooned in a camp in northern Syria and, arguably, unable to pursue her legal case effectively. She is, though, within easy reach of the world’s media, and capable of making the British state appear to be depriving her of her rights and oppressing her.

Still, there is no appetite to see her back in Blighty. Her best chance might well be to repeat, as she does, that “there is no justification for killing people in the name of God. I apologise. I’m sorry” and again express her wish to reform and join the campaign against radicalisation and extremism. As she told Good Morning Britain, in a message to Johnson: “You are clearly struggling with extremism and terrorism in the country. I want to help with that, telling my own experience with these extremists, what they say and how they persuade people to do what they do.” She should also, though, if she really wants to have a chance of coming back, declare that she is willing and able to stand trial for her crimes. Were ministers to demand that as the “price” of the restoration of citizenship then she would have to respond, and she would find it difficult to resist. Right now, though, the government remains secure in the knowledge that the great majority of the public ain’t even starting to feel sorry for Shamima Begum.