UK police seek access to media material on Shamima Begum

Ahmed Lamlom

The Metropolitan police are attempting to gain access to unpublished material held by journalists who interviewed Shamima Begum, one of the teenage girls who ran away from east London to join Daesh in 2015, ahead of a potential prosecution.

Begum had her British citizenship revoked earlier this year by the then home secretary, Sajid Javid, which left her effectively stateless. Begum’s family is challenging the decision in the courts.

The Times reporter Anthony Loyd was the first journalist to track down Begum, and spent 90 minutes alone with her in a Syrian refugee camp in February.

He interviewed her again after the death of her baby son, and other major British broadcasters also recorded interviews with her.

Begum, who married a Dutch Daesh fighter, has said she regrets running away from Bethnal Green to join the terrorist group, and wants to return home to the UK. Now believed to be 19 years old, she has had three children, all of whom have died.

The British government can revoke citizenship as long as it does not leave people stateless.

The media traditionally opposes police requests for material gathered for journalistic purposes, because it can break agreements between reporters and interviewees.

The Met said officers would contact media organizations “if they believe that they may have information or evidence that could assist a criminal investigation.

“We fully respect the media’s independence. The police will, when appropriate, seek a production order in situations where that material is not provided voluntarily. The decision to grant or deny the production order, quite properly, lies with the court.”

Shamima Begum’s father has apologized to the British public for his daughter’s decision to join Daesh.

The British government can revoke citizenship as long as it does not leave people stateless. Javid, who was preparing for an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to become Conservative leader when he took away her British passport, insisted his action was legal because Begum’s parents were Bangladeshi nationals, which he said entitled her to a passport from Bangladesh.