Shamima Begum's return to UK addressed by government after calls from US to allow her home

The Foreign Secretary has ruled out a return to the UK for Shamima Begum. David Lammy said the government would "act in our security interests" and would "not be bringing her back".

Ms Begum was just 15 when she left her east London home to marry an ISIS fighter in 2015. She was stripped of her British citizenship in 2019, and is now in a Syrian refugee camp.

There has been uncertainty on what would happen to Ms Begum since the fall of the Assad regime, the Mirror reports. Donald Trump's incoming counter-terrorism chief Sebastian Gorka said any nation wishing to be seen as a "serious ally" of the US should commit to taking back citizens in north eastern Syria.

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However Mr Lammy said the Government would "always put British security interests first and the safeguarding of our population". During an appearance on ITV's Good Morning Britain, he said: "Shamima Begum will not be coming back to the UK.

"It's gone right through the courts. She's not a UK national. We will not be bringing her back to the UK. We're really clear about that. We will act in our security interests."

Mr Lammy said many people in such camps were "dangerous radicals" who "would have to be, frankly, jailed as soon as they arrived." Speaking to The Times, Mr Gorka said: "Any nation which wishes to be seen to be a serious ally and friend of the most powerful nation in the world should act in a fashion that reflects that serious commitment", when he was asked whether the UK should be forced to accept ISIS members back.

He added: "That is doubly so for the UK which has a very special place in President Trump's heart and we would all wish to see the 'special relationship' fully re-established."