Shamima Begum Has British Citizenship Revoked By The Home Office, Her Family Lawyer Claims

The document, addressed to Begum’s mother, said the decision was taken “in light of the circumstances of your daughter”.

“I would be very grateful if you could ensure the Home Secretary’s decision is brought to her attention, along with her right to appeal,” it added.

The east London schoolgirl who left Britain as a 15-year-old was tracked down to a refugee camp in northern Syria last weekend by The Times.

Subsequently she has been interviewed on Sky News and the BBC, with her comments being broadcasted and subject to intense debate around the world.

International law forbids nations from making people stateless by revoking their only citizenship, but it is possible Begum, who is of Bangladeshi heritage, held dual citizenship.

Government guidance from 2017 states that the Home Secretary has the power to order the deprivation if it would be “conducive to the public good”, as long as they are not left without any citizenship.

A Home Office spokesman said he could not discuss individual cases, but added: “We don’t leave people stateless.”

Begum and two of her school friends, Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase, originally made the headlines when they fled Bethnal Green, London to travel to Syria to join IS in February 2015.

The teenager’s family have begged the government to intervene, saying that while they expect her to face consequences, she had been through a lot of trauma in the last four years, adding that her new born baby was “entirely blameless”.