Terror suspects lose citizenship

More than 100 terror suspects were stripped of their British citizenship last year, the Home Office has revealed.

A report on the UK authorities’ use of counterterrorism powers showed a sharp rise in the number of people deprived of the status.

In 2017 a total of 104 people were deprived of British citizenship on the grounds the move was “conducive to the public good”. This was up from 14 the previous year.

The report also revealed that powers to refuse a passport application or remove an existing UK passport were used on 14 people in 2017, down from 17 in 2016.

These are aimed at those suspected of planning to travel abroad as part of terrorist plots, who might then return to the UK to do harm.

Another 26 people were excluded from the UK on national security grounds. The previous year 30 people were excluded from the UK, including 20 on national security grounds.