I’m proof jihadi brides deserve a second chance
They issue plea as head of MI6 admits even ‘potentially dangerous fanatics’ CAN return
‘Safety is the first thing to consider’
THE family of Islamic State bride Shamima Begum say they have ‘every expectation’ she will be allowed back to the UK – and called for her baby to be allowed to ‘grow up in peace’. They said Begum should be ‘dealt with under the British justice system’, adding they were ‘concerned for her mental health’.
They also told how they fear the 19-yearold’s life could be at risk from Islamic State sympathisers in the camp where she is living. Their comments came after the head of MI6 admitted the UK cannot stop British jihadis and their wives coming home.
Alex Younger, known as C, said even ‘potentially very dangerous’ fanatics can enter the country if they have nowhere else to go. He said last night: ‘British nationals have a right to come to the UK.’
His comments contradict the Home Secretary, who said he ‘will not hesitate’ to prevent their return. Speaking yesterday, Sajid Javid said those who are ‘full of hate for our country’ should not enjoy its privileges.’
Begum, who is nine months pregnant, caused shockwaves this week when she emerged in a refugee camp in northern Syria.
She is begging to come home despite having ‘no regrets’ about her four years worshipping the barbaric terror group in Syria.
She has also pleaded to be allowed to keep her baby if she returns to Britain, The Times reported.
Begum – who claims she had contractions at the Al-Hawl camp – asked the newspaper: ‘What do you think will happen to my child? Because I don’t want it to be taken away from me, or at least if it is, to be given to my family.’
She said she feared she would not see her husband, Dutch jihadist Yago Riedijk, again – but still loved him ‘very much’.
She added: ‘I knew that coming back to the UK wouldn’t be a quiet thing. It’s uncomfortable. If I ever do go back, it’ll be a long time before the cameras stop and all the questions stop.’
Begum’s family are considering legal action to force the Government to allow her to return.
She is believed to be among dozens of jihadi brides poised to come back to Britain as their medieval caliphate is finally brought down.
In a statement issued to ITV News, Begum’s family said: ‘The news that Shamima is alive and well has come as a shock to the entire family. We had lost all hope of ever seeing her again.
‘We were utterly shocked by what we heard Shamima say in her interview with The Times. But to us, those are the words of a girl who was groomed at the age of 15; we are also mindful that Shamima is currently in a camp surrounded by IS sympathisers and any comments by her could lead directly to danger to her and her child.
‘We are concerned that her mental health has been affected by everything that she has endured.
‘The welfare of Shamima’s unborn baby is of paramount concern to our family, and we will do everything within our power to protect that baby who is entirely blameless in these events.
‘As a British citizen, Shamima has every expectation to be returned to the UK and be dealt with under the British justice system.
‘Shamima’s child has every right as a total innocent to have the chance to grow up in the peace and security of his home.
‘We request the British Government assist us in returning Shamima and her child to the UK as a matter of urgency.’
Speaking at a rare briefing on the fringes of the Munich Security Conference about Britons who travelled to Syria, Mr Younger said: ‘All experience tells us that once someone has put themselves in
that sort of position, they are likely to have acquired the skills and connections that make them potentially very dangerous.
‘Anybody who has put themselves in that situation can expect to be questioned, and investigated and potentially prosecuted if they return to our jurisdiction. Public safety is the first thing we will consider.’
Mr Younger also warned that IS will ‘morph and spread’ even as US president Donald Trump prepares to announce the demise of the caliphate this weekend. He said: ‘It is a resilient organisation and it is reorganising – essentially returning to its natural state as an asymmetric transnational terrorist organisation.
‘And we see it therefore as we would expect, morphing, spreading out. You can’t use military force to kill an idea but you can use it to denigrate and disrupt the sharpest end of the problem.’
He said that fighters trying to return from Syria have ‘skills and connections that make them potentially very dangerous’.
He said: ‘We have to be very alive to terrorist exploitation of new technologies and make sure that we are ahead of them.’ He also warned of a ‘resurgent’ Al-Qaeda, adding: ‘It is definitely not down and out.’