Shemima Begum.

Oh, not her again.

When I first heard that Miss Begum wanted to return to the U.K. my immediate reaction was to leave her wherever she was.

After much soul searching I came to the conclusion that she is our (the U.K.’s) problem, she should come back and face the music.

GrannyGravy13

When I first heard that Miss Begum wanted to return to the U.K. my immediate reaction was to leave her wherever she was.

After much soul searching I came to the conclusion that she is our (the U.K.’s) problem, she should come back and face the music.

I fear if she did she would end up being a “celebrity”.

She was a young woman of 15-16, right at the age when they are most impressionable and willing to take risks that in retrospect they will come to regret. Most get away without it being so serious or frankly appalling.

Begum is a child of the U.K. and as such is our responsibility.

The authorities should deal with her as they think fit.

Me too GrannyGravy13 - exactly that.

And at 15 she was not an adult.

I feel the same as GrannyGravy she is our problem and we should deal with her. Whether or not she would become a "celebrity" is beside the point.
We can't just outsource our own problems on to other countries because we can't decide what to do.

She won’t face any music though if she comes back, because it’ll be deemed she was a child who was trafficked.
She has two more courts to appeal to, The Supreme Court and if that fails, the ECHR. No doubt that will give her back to us. She’s already cost us millions in legal aid and will cost us millions more with the two further appeals. If she comes back she’ll be housed and given benefits because no one will want to employ her I expect.
I for one, don’t want her back. Especially at this difficult time with so much angst in the country with the situation over Gaza.

It’s clear that the decision to revoke her British citizenship was made on grounds of public safety but we will never know the information which was and is available to the Home Secretary. Not even her lawyers are privy to that as special counsel are appointed to act for her and for the government in the closed hearings. Do you remember the then Home Secretary saying ‘if you knew what I know’?

She has already cost us huge amounts of money and will continue to do so as her attempts to regain her citizenship carry on. I am satisfied that if she is a risk to our security, she should never be permitted to return. This is not just about what she did as a 15 year old. It is very much about the person she is now and the information which the security services have about that person.

The longer this goes on the more I wonder if there is a lot we are not being told about the level of risk SB might pose to the UK.

My first reaction is that she was a child who acted foolishly, and unfortunately the consequences of that folly were way beyond that which most 15 year olds have to face.

I still believe that to be true, but I am now starting to think that maybe her life in Syria has brought her into contact with people who have power over her, or that as she has grown up she has become genuinely radicalised (as opposed to groomed and tricked into believing in the cause of Islamism) and is a real threat to our security.

As you say, maddy it has cost a fortune to date, and if it were just a case of wanting to make an example of a child it would make sense to back down and let her come back but be closely supervised.

As the world has become even more dangerous and divided since she went to Syria it might be that it's better if she doesn't come back, even though that means that the consequences of her misguided behaviour have ruined her life altogether. It's a shame, and I do feel for her, but there are always going to be things that the security services can't tell us, and I'm increasingly wondering if something about SB is one of them.

Germanshepherdsmum

It’s clear that the decision to revoke her British citizenship was made on grounds of public safety but we will never know the information which was and is available to the Home Secretary. Not even her lawyers are privy to that as special counsel are appointed to act for her and for the government in the closed hearings. Do you remember the then Home Secretary saying ‘if you knew what I know’?

She has already cost us huge amounts of money and will continue to do so as her attempts to regain her citizenship carry on. I am satisfied that if she is a risk to our security, she should never be permitted to return. This is not just about what she did as a 15 year old. It is very much about the person she is now and the information which the security services have about that person.

Good post GSM Thank you.

I don’t agree with what she has done but she was an impressionable child when it happened. Everyone deserves a second chance just as long as she is monitored while she is over here.

I have always wondered why her parents have not spoken up if it so important for her to return to the UK.

She has never shown any remorse. I think she is a very clever, devious young woman.

GSM , a very valid point - yes 15 at the time , but what has she become ? She is damaged and I fear she may be a threat to our country.

We have to set an example...no means no. Her parents are from Pakistan and have returned there. If they truly love their daughter, they would make an effort to have her join them.
With the present climate in this country, she would be hailed a hero/heroine by those wanting to overturn the west.

I agree with GSM. Begum should never be allowed back here.

Curtain. I did not know her parents had returned to Pakistan. All the more reason for her to be reunited with them. Strange they have stayed out of everything to do with her.

Germanshepherdsmum

It’s clear that the decision to revoke her British citizenship was made on grounds of public safety but we will never know the information which was and is available to the Home Secretary. Not even her lawyers are privy to that as special counsel are appointed to act for her and for the government in the closed hearings. Do you remember the then Home Secretary saying ‘if you knew what I know’?

She has already cost us huge amounts of money and will continue to do so as her attempts to regain her citizenship carry on. I am satisfied that if she is a risk to our security, she should never be permitted to return. This is not just about what she did as a 15 year old. It is very much about the person she is now and the information which the security services have about that person.

My first reaction was that she was a child, has been punished for long enough. She should come back and be charged, bearing in mind she was a child at the time.

However, as Germanshepherdsmum says, there is much more to this than we, as members of the public, will ever know.

The other however is: if she does come back, is charged and sent to prison, is there a chance she may be rehabilitated?

She has been radicalised and appears to show no remorse so I doubt she would be rehabilitated. More likely that she would radicalise others, as we know often happens in prisons. It’s clear that the security services know she has become a very dangerous person.

There is always an argument now about whether 15 year olds are old enough to take responsibility for their actions, whether it’s murder, self harm, or going off to join a terrorist organisation.
That aside, I am with GSM and others about not knowing all aspects of this case and about the person she is now and influences that might shape her actions.

This debacle has cost the British taxpayer just over £5 million!

And it’s not over yet. But I would rather money than lives be spent. The money paid to lawyers will be taxed (a great deal of it at the Additional Rate of 45%) and much of the rest will be spent back into the economy.

She must never be allowed to return to our country. Too much has happened to her and she is far too radicalized to be trusted. Sad I recognize that but..............?
Yes she was only 15 , but most 15 year olds know better than to run away to join a terrorist organization!! I accept she may well have been a very disturbed teenager, but I fear she is now far more than a disturbed adult. Don't think she can ever become a ordinary citizen - she is far too damaged. Clearly there is more to this woman than we are aware of , thankfully the powers that be know more than we do and will keep her out of the UK.

Can’t imagine why she even wants to return. Pakistan would be much better for her.

“If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them"
Karl Popper.