The woman who travelled to Syria as a teenager was born and radicalised in this country, writes Anish Kapoor , and the decision to strip her of her citizenship is shameful

I am saddened and appalled to hear of the British government’s refusal to allow Shamima Begum the right to return to Britain, the country of her birth. This decision is shameful and politically motivated (Begum loses first stage of fight to be British citizen, 8 February). The home secretary, Priti Patel, declared in advance of the recent Special Immigration Appeals Commission judgment that Shamima would never be allowed back into the UK.

The land where she was born and bred radicalised her and ultimately failed her. Lest we forget, Shamima left the UK when she was 15, after she had been extensively groomed under the noses of the very authorities tasked to protect her.

As a minor, she was effectively trafficked to Syria with three other girls her age from the same school. In Syria, Shamima sadly lost two babies to malnutrition, disease and exposure. Her third child, born in a Syrian refugee camp, also died. That child was a British citizen and should have been repatriated to the UK, as other orphaned children from these camps were in November 2019.

What a sad and terrible indictment of our inability to find forgiveness and compassion. This young woman cannot be singled out and held responsible for the horror that is Isis. Shamima has undoubtedly said some stupid things; it is clear some of her words were uttered under duress and threat. The foolish utterances of a teenager, however, are not enough reason to deprive her of the rights and duties of citizenship. Shamima is British. This is a fact. It is not for the government to deny her the right to return home.

Is it now the new norm that we have to prove how British we are? Are some of us more British than others? It is clear that this Tory government is bent on excluding from these shores all those it can label as outsiders.

Anish Kapoor

London

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