Why the Government could remove Shamima Begum’s nationality

sir – Much is being made of the fact that international law does not allow the British Government to make someone stateless, meaning that it cannot strip Shamima Begum of her nationality (report, February 18).

If Ms Begum did indeed lawfully marry Yago Riedijk, a Dutch citizen, she is fully entitled to apply for Dutch nationality – provided that she does not do so while living as a British citizen in the United Kingdom. Her son is, under Netherlands law, a Dutch citizen by virtue of his Dutch father.

It would appear, therefore, that there is nothing preventing the British Government from stripping Ms Begum of her British nationality – apart from the will to do so.

Nicholas Young

London W13

sir – Anyone considering showing sympathy for this treasonous woman should read your report (February 17) about the treatment of the Yazidi people by Daesh, and then reconsider.

Alan Clare

King’s Lynn, Norfolk

sir – When Neil Truelove (Letters, February 18) says the decision to allow Ms Begum back says more about the sort of people we are than the sort of person she is, I presume he means that we should show compassion.

Such “mercy” is seen by extremists not as a positive attribute but as a weakness. Members of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant will be laughing all the way to their next beheading.

Veronica Timperley

London W1

sir – Ms Begum has appealed for “sympathy”. How much sympathy did she show towards the soldier whose head she found in a waste bin?

Jane Hayes

Dereham, Norfolk sir – Ms Begum should be allowed to return.

She was a minor when she took the decision to travel to Isil-held territory. Rather than representing a potential threat to our security, her story might help to de-radicalise other young British Muslims hostile to the West.

Michael Banyard

Charlton Adam, Somerset

sir – The Government should foresee the consequences of allowing Ms Begum to return.

She is already something of a celebrity. In some quarters – including those who have suffered from Isil atrocities, as well as some Islamist factions – she will also be a hate figure, requiring round-the-clock police protection at vast cost for an indefinite period. On these and other grounds her return is not in the public interest.

David Brancher

Abergavenny, Monmouthshire