By Charlotte Webster-
The Court Of Appeal has heard that the decision to deprive Shamima Begum of her British citizenship was unlawful.
Ms Begum(pictured) British citizenship was revoked after she travelled to Syria in 2015 – at the age of 15 . It was revoked on national security grounds shortly after she was found in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019.
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The 24-year-old lost a challenge against the decision at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC).
Giving the commission’s ruling in February, Mr Justice Jay said that while there was a “credible suspicion that Ms Begum was recruited, transferred and then harboured for the purpose of sexual exploitation”, this did not prevent then-home secretary Sajid Javid from removing her citizenship.
At the Court of Appeal in London on Tuesday, Ms Begum’s lawyers began a bid to overturn this decision, with the Home Office opposing the challenge.
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Three senior judges were told the Home Office failed to consider the legal duties owed to Ms Begum as a potential victim of trafficking or as a result of “state failures” in her case.
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Mr Justice Jay said that while there was “credible suspicion that Ms Begum was recruited, transferred and then harboured for the purpose of sexual exploitation”, this did not prevent then-home secretary Sajid Javid from removing her citizenship.
Samantha Knights KC said in written submissions: “The appellant’s trafficking was a mandatory, relevant consideration in determining whether it was conducive to the public good and proportionate to deprive her of citizenship, but it was not considered by the Home Office.
“As a consequence, the deprivation decision was unlawful.”
Ms Knights and Dan Squires KC later said the UK has failed to have a “full and effective” investigation into how Ms Begum was trafficked.
In its ruling earlier this year, SIAC concluded there were “arguable breaches of duty” by state bodies – including the Metropolitan Police, Tower Hamlets council and Ms Begum’s school – in not preventing her from travelling to Syria.
Ms Knights told the Court of Appeal at the start of the three-day hearing that these “failures” could have also been unlawful and contributed to Ms Begum’s trafficking.
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