Shameless Begum: Let me help UK f ight terror
Jihadi bride’s astounding plea to PM... and nation
JIHADI bride Shamima Begum yesterday made an astonishing offer to the Prime Minister, claiming she could help Britain fight terrorism ‘because you clearly don’t know what you’re doing’.
The 22-year-old, who was stripped of her British citizenship for joining Islamic State, said she should be welcomed back to the UK ‘as an asset rather than a threat’.
And, dressed in a vest top and Nike baseball cap, she told breakfast television that her only crime was being ‘dumb enough’ to join the extremist group.
However, former home secretary Sajid Javid dismissed her denials, saying if people ‘know what I knew’ then they would have made the same decision to ban her from returning.
The former east London schoolgirl was only 15 when she travelled to Syria to join Islamic State.
There she married a Dutch recruit, who is believed to be in a Kurdish prison, and had three children who have all died.
Although Begum has claimed she was ‘manipulated’ into joining the terror group, security sources allege that she was an enthusiastic supporter. As well as reportedly helping to sew bombers into suicide vests, she is alleged to have brandished a Kalashnikov as part of the group’s ‘morality police’.
Speaking from a Syrian refugee camp yesterday, Begum told ITV that she was happy to face trial over the terror claims against her.
And she called on the UK to allow her to return rather than let her join her father in Bangladesh, where she may face a death sentence. In her latest plea for forgiveness, she asked Good Morning Britain: ‘How can a country like the UK – who does not believe in the death penalty – expect me to go to a country where I will be killed?
‘I know it’s very hard for the British people to try and forgive me because they have lived in fear [and] lost loved ones because of Isis. But I also have lived in fear [and] lost loved ones because of Isis so I can sympathise.’ She added: ‘I know it is very hard for them [the British people] to forgive me. But I say from the bottom of my heart that I am so sorry if I ever offended anyone by coming here, by the things I said.
‘No one can hate me more than I hate myself for what I’ve done. All I can say is I’m sorry and just give me a second chance.’
In an extraordinary plea to Boris Johnson, she added: ‘You are clearly struggling with extremism and terrorism in your country. I could very much help you.’
When she was first tracked down to a refugee camp in 2019, she was interviewed in traditional Islamic clothing. But yesterday she wore make-up and pink nail varnish, denying the new look is part of a publicity stunt. She has also previously claimed that she likes Zumba and Colombian pop star Shakira.
But Mr Javid, who is now Health Secretary, insisted he was ‘morally right’ to remove her passport and ban her from coming back.
He told Good Morning Britain: ‘I won’t go into details of the case, but what I will say is that you certainly haven’t seen what I saw.’
‘Just give me a second chance’