From left, Amira Abase, Kadiza Sultana and Shamima Begum at Gatwick Airport, on their way to Syria

The schoolgirl who ran away from London aged 15 to join Islamic State in Syria four years ago was found by The Times in a refugee camp after escaping the jihadists’ final showdown.

Shamima Begum, 19, who is pregnant with her third child, was one of three pupils from Bethnal Green whose flight in February 2015 shocked the country. Their decision to desert stable lives and families for life under Isis became emblematic of the lure of the self-styled caliphate at the height of its tyranny.

Ms Begum said that she had chosen to flee from the group’s last stand in eastern Syria two weeks ago because of fears for her unborn child. She described herself as nine months pregnant. Her other two children