The vast majority of the British public support the home secretary's decision to remove the UK citizenship of Islamic State recruit Shamima Begum, a Sky Data poll reveals.

Eight in 10 Britons (78%) think Sajid Javid was right to remove the 19-year-old's citizenship, with 15% saying he was wrong, and 7% unsure.

Shamima Begum, who left Britain to join Islamic State aged 15, recently gave birth in a refugee camp in Syria and wants to return to the UK.

Image: Shamima Begum said removing her UK citizenship is 'unjust'

Near identical numbers think politicians should have the power to remove the citizenship of UK citizens if they join terrorist groups - 79% think they should, 15% think they should not, with 6% answering "don't know".

Questions have been asked about the legality of removing Shamima Begum's citizenship, as it is illegal to make someone stateless - that is, without citizenship of any country - under international law.


She is believed to be a dual British-Bangladeshi national, although her family's lawyer has said the UK-born teenager of Bangladeshi heritage has never had a Bangladeshi passport and is not a dual citizen.

Image: Sajid Javid is seeking to strip Shamima Begum of her UK citizenship

The Bangladeshi government also says Shamima Begum is not a Bangladeshi citizen and that she is a British citizen by birth and has never applied for dual nationality with Bangladesh.

According to the Sky Data poll, the number opposing removing her UK citizenship increased if it was the case that it would leave her stateless - but the vast majority thought it should still go ahead even if it broke international law.

Two thirds of the public (65%) think her citizenship should be removed even if it would leave her stateless, breaking international law - 25% say it should not be removed in those circumstances, and 10% say they don't know.

Sky Data interviewed a nationally representative sample of 849 UK adults by SMS on 20 February 2019. Data are weighted to the profile of the population. Sky Data is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

For full Sky Data tables, please click here.