Fears of row with Canada as ISIS recruit ‘Jihadi Jack’ is stripped of UK citizenship
British ISIS member Jack Letts, who joined the extremist group fighting in Syria, has had his UK citizenship revoked.
Letts, called “Jihadi Jack” by the media, converted to Islam as a teenager and later left his school in Oxfordshire to fight in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa in 2014.
Now 24, he has been in a prison in northern Syria for two years after being captured by Kurdish forces.
The Mail on Sunday reported that the government of former prime minister Theresa May, in which Sajid Javid was home secretary, had stripped Letts of his citizenship, potentially sparking a diplomatic row with Canada, where he also has citizenship.
But Mr Javid’s successor, Priti Patel, supported the decision, the newspaper said.
“It is Priti’s job to keep the country safe and she will do whatever is in her power to keep terrorist fighters out of the UK, including depriving dual nationals of their British citizenship when it is legal to do so and the intelligence shows there is a threat,” the report quoted a source as saying.
In June, the ISIS member’s Canadian father, John Letts, and British mother, Sally Lane, were found guilty of funding terrorism for transferring £223 (Dh1,026) to their son in 2015, despite police having warned them repeatedly not to do so.
The couple were handed a 15- month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, in a legal case that cost the British taxpayer about £7 million (Dh32.2m).
It is illegal under international law to strip a person of their citizenship if it leaves them stateless, so the measure can be enacted only against a dual citizen.
The Home Office said it did not comment on individual cases but did release a comment to the media.
“Decisions on depriving a dual national of citizenship are based on advice from officials, lawyers and intelligence agencies and all available information,” a spokesman said. “This power is one way we can counter the terrorist threat posed by some of the most dangerous individuals and keep our country safe.”
The move bears similarities to another highly politicised case of a British ISIS member.
Shamima Begum, who left her home in London to travel to Syria at the age of 15, was also stripped of her UK citizenship by Mr Javid.