Why I, as a terror attack survivor, say jihadi bride must be banished from UK forever

expressed the same thought: Begum does not deserve to return.

I still bear the scars of the attack on Borough Market, which took place on June 3, 2017. The date and the events of that day are permanently etched into both my memory and my body. I carry two large scars on my neck, a permanent reminder of what Islamic State represents and what it wants to do to all non-believers.

The problem with Begum, is that she is still with them philosophically and as such, represents an unacceptable security risk.

I know that my views on this matter are not popular in some quarters. Kind-hearted, perhaps bleeding hearts would argue that she was groomed and therefore deserves a chance.

One friend even tried to equate her situation and desire to start over to that of the groomed girls of Rochdale, who were used and abused by some of the worst scum on the planet. He said to deny her the chance to return is to sink to mob politics.

With all due respect to my friend and others who express similar views, but they are all out of their minds. Begum was not a young child when she left to join IS, she was a young adult and made adult decisions. She was above the age of criminal responsibility and knew that there would be repercussions. It is time for her to learn that when you burn bridges, you can never cross them again.

THAT all said, I do feel sorry for her newborn child. It is an innocent, unlike her. It should be taken from her and be given a chance to grow up with a kind, loving family and have a good life. Perhaps with her parents and family. That Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn believes Begum has the right to return should not come as a surprise. This is a man who has a track record of going easy on terrorists and despots, whether it is the likes of Hezbollah or the Maduro dictatorship in Venezuela. He is more comfortable attacking the West, than enemies of democracy, freedom and tolerance. On this Corbyn is far apart from the vast majority of the country. Even Corbynistas tell me he’s got it wrong and that his stance makes them uneasy. On this, as with most things, he is out of touch with the real world.

While I can see the point my friend and other dogooders are trying to make, I thoroughly disagree with them. The victims of Rochdale and other grooming gangs, for example, do not represent a clear and present danger to the UK and the Western World. The Brides of IS do. With Begum, there is not a hint of regret, sorrow to what she said. Her causal disregard for the life of a person IS beheaded is chilling. It’s the same cold, disassociated tone that serial killers have. With her, there is only admiration for IS and its warped beliefs, along with the nauseating belief that Britain still owed her something. She is still a radical and she is still a threat.

Begum claims that she is willing to change and that she deserves “mercy”. IS did not show any mercy to any of its victims. The terror group and it’s sympathisers do not show mercy, so why should we? IS acts like a state, one that which she supports, so to strip of her citizenship means she will only be left with the caliphate, the only state she recognised anyway.

The bottom line is that Shamima Begum should not ever be allowed to return to the UK or any other civilised country. She opted out of civilised society and actively chose to join a regime that wants to turn the clock back to the Dark Ages. She rejected the rights, opportunities, responsibilities and obligations that come with being a British citizen.

She made her choice. Let her live and die with the consequences. A CRIMINAL trial against jihadi bride Shamima Begum could be “impossible” as it would expose undercover agents in Islamic State, intelligence chiefs warned last night.

Information on Begum’s time in Syria was gathered by spies and MI6 assets who had embedded themselves within IS groups, sources claimed.

But the need to establish the credibility of eye-witness accounts in a criminal court would risk exposing fragile Western spy networks.

One source said last night: “It is not the first time that the decision has been taken that the greatest good is best served by not prosecuting for the sake of safeguarding intelligence assets.”

Another added: “A criminal trial would be impossible, based on the nature of the evidence held against her.”

Last night, former MI5 chief Lord Evans confirmed the danger of a criminal trial.

He said: “The fact is that there are no secret courts when it comes to criminal prosecutions.

“Closed material procedures for protecting sensitive information can be used in certain civil cases but, for a criminal prosecution, evidence would have to be produced in court.”

Intelligence sources have said that the teenager played a more significant role in supporting IS Jihadis than she has suggested publicly.

It is claimed she had been seen carrying a rifle near to where fighting was taking place and was reportedly seen holding a severed head.

But she insists her time in the war-torn country was

“like normal life” following her arranged marriage to English-speaking Dutch radical Yago Riedijk.

In June 2017, Sunday Express City Editor GEOFF HO was caught up in the London Bridge massacre, which saw eight people murdered. He was badly wounded when he stepped in to tackle the rampaging killers. Here, he tells why he desperately hopes that Shamima Begum is never allowed to return to our shores