The daughter of a British aid worker who was executed by Islamic State has said his alleged killers should be "left to rot in Guantanamo Bay".

Bethany Haines has been angered by claims from Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh that they will not get a fair trial after being stripped of their UK citizenship.

The jihadists, who are accused of being part of a death squad nicknamed "The Beatles" because of their British accents, slammed the Government's "illegal" decision in an interview on Saturday.

Mrs Haines' father David was killed by the IS cell and said Kotey and Elsheikh had shown "no remorse".

She added: "As for them saying they have been stripped of rights, well when they held my father for 18 months with his family not knowing whether he was dead or alive, they stripped him of his rights.


Image: Alexanda Amon Kotey (L) and El Shafee Elsheikh have spoken out following their capture

"In my opinion they should be given an orange jumpsuit and stripped of all the things they hold dear and left to rot in Guantanamo Bay."

The IS cell also killed American journalist James Foley in 2014.

His mother Diane said: "They deserve to be held in solitary confinement for the rest of their lives and held accountable for the pain they've inflicted."

Kotey and Elsheikh spoke to the Associated Press while being held captive in northern Syria after they were captured in early January in eastern Syria by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Image: David Haines was beheaded by Mohammed Emwazi

The pair used the interview to hit out at the "audacity" of the UK Government for its decision to strip them of their British citizenship in February.

Although it was widely reported, officials have not confirmed or denied it was the case.

"The Beatles" IS cell is believed to have captured, tortured and killed hostages, including aid workers and journalists.

The group included Mohammed Emwazi - dubbed "Jihadi John" - who died in a 2015 drone strike in Raqqa.

Militant: IS beheadings 'regrettable'

The pair have not admitted to being involved in any hostage-takings or beheadings and said the allegations against them were media "propaganda".

However they did speak of their membership of Islamic State.

Kotey, from west London, said the killing of western hostages in Syria was "regrettable" and could have been avoided, adding that many people within IS would have disagreed with the killings.

He said there was "probably more benefit" in those captured being used as political prisoners.

"I didn't see the benefit in executing them," he said, before blaming Western governments for failing to negotiate and noting that some hostages were released for ransoms.

Image: The men were allegedly in the same group as 'Jihadi John'

The cell is believed to have kept more than 20 Westerners hostage, and tortured and killed American, British and Japanese journalists and aid workers in 2014 and 2015.

As well as David Haines and James Foley, their victims included American journalist Steven Sotloff, US humanitarian worker Peter Kassig, and UK aid worker Alan Henning.

Elsheikh, from west London, travelled to Syria in 2012, initially to join an al Qaeda branch before moving to IS, according to US State Department documents, which said he "earned a reputation for waterboarding".

They also claim Kotey served as a guard for the IS cell and was "likely engaged in the group's executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods".

The men criticised the media over the "Beatles" allegations and said the claims were concocted as a pretext to kill them with drone strikes.

"No fair trial, when I am 'the Beatle' in the media. No fair trial," Elsheikh said, who added the loss of their citizenship meant they were now open to "rendition and torture".

Widow of beheaded aid worker pleads for the location of his body

He said: "Being taken to any foreign land and treated in anyway and having nobody to vouch for you.

"When you have these two guys who don't even have any citizenship... if we just disappear one day, where is my mum going to go and say where is my son?"

The capture of Kotey and Elsheikh has since sparked a debate about where they should be tried.

The US has called for the home countries of foreign jihadis to take their nationals back for trial.

However, the UK Government has signalled the pair should not be allowed back into the country.

Haras Rafiq, chief executive of the Quilliam Foundation, a counter-extremism think thank, told Sky News: "The Government is well within its rights to take away their citizenship.

Image: Alan Henning was another of Jihadi John's victims

"They both have nationalities from other countries, and as consistent with other crimes that other people have committed, the home secretary has taken away citizenships before without leaving people stateless.

"If you look at what they're actually saying about fair trial, and the fact that they claim Britain has the audacity to take away their citizenship, this stinks to me like a PR stunt."

Associated Press reporter Andrea Rosa, who interviewed the pair, told Sky News: "It was a bit confrontational I would say at the beginning, they would not speak or even answer our questions at the beginning."

He added: "Because I felt that they were like afraid of something, of an interrogation, they looked at us more as if we were like interrogators rather than journalists."

Mr Rosa continued: "But eventually it was all good and I think they were kind of also probably happy to be out of the prison for a while."

Image: Alexanda Kotey (L) and Shafee Elsheikh were captured in January

When asked if he questioned the pair about the horrific crimes are they accused of, Mr Rosa replied: "We asked those sorts of questions of course but they would not comment on anything like that.

"They wouldn't comment on anything related to their role or job in Islamic State.

"They didn't deny being part of Islamic State.

"But they labelled most of the allegations as media propaganda."