ISIS bride Shamima Begum's bid to return to UK revived after European judges challenge Britain's stance

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has formally ordered the Home Office to justify the move in accordance with international law following an application from Begum’s lawyers.

ECtHR judges are now assessing whether the UK Government failed to look into whether it violated human rights and anti-trafficking laws, and whether the Home Office failed to those into account by banning the former child bride from returning to Britain.

Lawyers for Begum, who left east London to join Islamic State when she was 15, have hailed the step as an “unprecedented opportunity”.

Their claim, filed in an application to the Strasbourg court, argues UK authorities failed to ask four key questions before her citizenship was revoked by former Conservative Home Secretary Sajid Javid in 2019.

These include whether she had been trafficked to Syria, whether British authorities failed to protect her, and whether her lack of citizenship would undermine any future investigation into trafficking.

If any trafficking issues were raised, they say British authorities failed to ask whether her lack of citizenship could be justified on national security grounds.

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The Home Office has been ordered to answer these questions within months.

Gareth Peirce, the lawyer representing Begum, said: “Strasbourg’s communication presents an unprecedented opportunity for the UK as well as for Ms Begum - to grapple with the significant considerations raised in her case and ignored, sidestepped or violated up to now by previous UK administrations.

“It is impossible to dispute that a 15-year-old British child was in 2014-15 lured, encouraged, and deceived for the purposes of sexual exploitation to leave home and travel to ISIL-controlled territory for the known purpose of being given, as a child, to an ISIL fighter to propagate children for the Islamic State.

“It is equally impossible not to acknowledge the catalogue of failures to protect a child known for weeks beforehand to be at high risk when a close friend had disappeared to Syria in an identical way and via an identical route.

“The police failed to warn families, informed the school that its apprehension of risk was overstated, conducted no safeguarding measures, delayed contact with ports and known routes of travel to trigger alarms and prevent [them] reaching the known destination.”

Begum was stripped of her citizenship after she travelled to Syria aged 15 to join IS in 2015, where she married Dutch Islamic convert Yago Riedijk.

The decision was upheld by the UK Supreme Court on the basis that she could also claim citizenship in Bangladesh.

However, Bangladesh rejected her application, and she has been stranded in a Syrian camp ever since.

Senior Tories have stood firm in rejecting that Begum be allowed back in the UK.

“Under no circumstances should Begum ever step foot in the UK again,” says Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick.

“She chose to get into bed with ISIS terrorists and must now live with the consequences,” he said.

Former Conservative Defence Secretary Minister Sir Ben Wallace, told The Daily Express: “She knowingly and freely joined ISIS.

“She assisted them in the prosecution of their murderous campaign. She wanted to go there, she can stay there.”

Last year, Begum lost an appeal against the removal of her British citizenship.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Government will always protect the UK and its citizens.

"That is why Shamima Begum — who posed a national security threat - had her British citizenship revoked and is unable to return to the UK.

“We will robustly defend any decision made to protect our national security.”