British police are investigating Shamima Begum despite the government’s decision to remove her UK citizenship rather than repatriate her for trial.

Scotland Yard is attempting to seize unpublished notes made by journalists who interviewed the former Isis member in Syria.

The Metropolitan Police has applied for a judge to force three media companies to hand over their material after they refused voluntary requests.

A production order, under the Terrorism Act, requires officers to prove the material is “sought for the purposes of a terrorist investigation”, is of “substantial value” and that seizure is in the public interest.

A lawyer representing Ms Begum's family told The Independent he had not been informed of the application and believes police are “building a case against her”.

Tasnime Akunjee said a hearing date has not yet been set for an appeal against Sajid Javid’s decision to remove her British citizenship, which allegedly made her stateless.

Timeline of the Isis caliphate Show all 19 1 /19 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Timeline of the Isis caliphate ISIS began as a group by the merging of extremist organisations ISI and al-Nusra in 2013. Following clashes, Syrian rebels captured the ISIS headquarters in Aleppo in January 2014 (pictured) AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared the creation of a caliphate in Mosul on 27 June 2014 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis conquered the Kurdish towns of Sinjar and Zumar in August 2014, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Pictured are a group of Yazidi Kurds who have fled Rex Timeline of the Isis caliphate On September 2 2014 Isis released a video depicting the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff. On September 13 they released another video showing the execution of British aid worker David Haines Timeline of the Isis caliphate The US launched its first airstrikes against Isis in Syria on 23 September 2014. Here Lt Gen William C Mayville Jnr speaks about the bombing campaign in the wake of the first strikes Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis militants sit atop a hill planted with their flag in the Syrian town of Kobani on 6 October 2014. They had been advancing on Kobani since mid-September and by now was in control of the city’s entrance and exit points AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Residents of the border village of Alizar keep guard day and night as they wait in fear of mortar fire from Isis who have occupied the nearby city of Kobani Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Smoke rises following a US airstrike on Kobani, 28 October 2014 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate YPG fighters raise a flag as they reclaim Kobani on 26 January 2015 VOA Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis seized the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on 20 May 2015. This image show the city from above days after its capture by Isis Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces are stationed on a hill above the town of Sinjar as smoke rises following US airstrikes on 12 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces enter Sinjar after seizing it from Isis control on 13 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi government forces make the victory sign as they retake the city of Fallujah from ISIS on 26 June 2016 Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi forces battle with Isis for the city of Mosul on 30 June 2017 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of the Iraqi federal police raise flags in Mosul on 8 July 2017. On the following day, Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi declares victory over Isis in Mosul Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Female fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim Square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria in January 2019 They were among the last civilians to be living in the ISIS caliphate, by this time reduced to just two small villages in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor Richard Hall/The Independent Timeline of the Isis caliphate Zikia Ibrahim, 28, with her two-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter, after fleeing the Isis caliphate, on Saturday 26 January 2019 Richard Hall/The Independent

“When you put the two together – the fact they’re stretching out the hearing and you’ve got police beavering away – it suggests that if she is brought back to the UK she will face legal proceedings,” he added.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police would not tell The Independent why the application was made or confirm whether officers were gathering evidence for a potential prosecution.

“Officers will contact media organisations if they believe that they may have information or evidence that could assist a criminal investigation,” a statement said.

“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.”

The Times, Sky News and ITN instructed legal representation to resist the application ahead of a hearing at the Old Bailey in London on Tuesday.

The case was due to be heard by Mr Justice Sweeney, a high court judge, but was adjourned after he ruled the case must be first heard by a circuit judge instead.

It will now be considered on Wednesday before Judge Mark Dennis QC, at the same court.

Only one in 10 of more than 400 jihadis who have already travelled back from Syria have been prosecuted and the government has introduced a suite of new terror laws aiming to make the move easier.

Jeremy Hunt defends Shamima Begum receiving legal aid

The UK has so far refused to repatriate captured British Isis fighters to face trial, despite mounting international pressure and pleas from Kurdish officials in Syria.

As home secretary, Mr Javid said he used citizenship deprivation powers to “protect the country” and prevent them from returning to the UK.

A Home Office source told The Independent that the government’s position on detained British jihadis has not changed since he was replaced by Priti Patel in Boris Johnson’s new cabinet.

Official guidance states that the home secretary can deprive citizenship for the “public good” if a person can apply for alternative nationality, but Bangladeshi officials said Begum was not a dual national and would not be allowed to enter the country.

Her lawyers are taking the case to the Special Immigration and Appeals Commission, which previously found the decision to remove British citizenship from two alleged Islamists of Bangladeshi heritage unlawful.

Ms Begum is currently detained in the Roj camp in Syria, alongside other women who joined Isis and their children.

She travelled to the terrorist group’s strongholds aged 15 with two school friends from Bethnal Green and married a Dutch Isis fighter.

They had three children but all died, including a baby boy born in the al-Hol camp earlier this year.

She gave birth days after being tracked down by Anthony Lloyd, war correspondent for The Times, and later gave interviews to other media outlets including ITN and Sky News.

Shamima Begum travelled to join Isis with two school friends in 2015 (Metropolitan Police)

She appealed to be allowed to return to the UK and claimed she was merely a “housewife”, but sources claimed she had been a member of Isis’s feared morality police.

A report released earlier this year by the UN Security Council warned that reductive “jihadi bride” stereotypes were causing female Isis members to be dangerously underestimated by security services.

It called on the UK and other member states to recognise the “many different roles, including as supporters, facilitators or perpetrators of terrorist acts” that women play, adding: “The gendered assumption that women lack agency can have serious security implications by letting dangerous actors slip through the cracks.”

The report said countries choosing to leave women in conflict zones “could exacerbate future Isis-related threats and, more generally, threaten the long-term recovery and stability of the region”.

Several British women became high-profile radicalisers, including the Scottish university student Aqsa Mahmood, who communicated with the Bethnal Green girls on Twitter before they left for Syria.

Ms Begum is among at least 20 British women and children being held in Syrian Democratic Forces camps after fleeing Isis territories, The Independent understands.