The Liberal Democrats have issued a suitably liberal statement about Da'esh's poster girl from east London. I agree that if she chooses to return to the UK, then she should face trial. However, just because she has become a media darling (both the Times and the BBC making much of interviews with her), there is no reason to spend taxpayer's money on bringing her back. She should be treated no differently from the hundreds of other British supporters of "the caliphate". I do wonder about the child, too. He may be as innocent as any new-born now, but what will be the effect of being brought up in his formative years by a mother who is seemingly unrepentant about her years as a terrorist groupie?
However, the institutionally xenophobic Home Office's response is way over the top. In precipitately cancelling her UK citizenship, Home Secretary Javid has at one blow broken international and British law and upset the Bangladesh administration in his blithe assumption that Shamima had dual citizenship. The BBC reports that the first the relevant Bangladeshi minister knew that his nation was expected to take her in was from broadcast media. His understandable response was that she was UK's responsibility alone and that his government had no intention of accepting her.
Home Secretary Javid must be hoping that the Netherlands, homeland of the baby's father, will be prepared to take the child and its mother in. Otherwise, his Department will face another costly and almost certainly losing court battle.
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