Shamima Begum deserves legal aid even if it’s uncomfortable, says Jeremy Hunt The minister said it made him ‘personally uncomfortable’ but that the decision should not be made by politicians

Jeremy Hunt said former Isis member Shamima Begum should have the chance to access legal aid even though the thought of it made him “personally very uncomfortable”.

The Foreign Secretary was asked about reports that Ms Begum, who fled the UK aged 15 to join the so-called caliphate, was now hoping to access legal aid to challenge the decision to strip her of her British citizenship.

He said that it made him feel uncomfortable because she “knew the choices she was making” when she decided to join Isis but said that decision over legal aid could not be political.

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And he acknowledged that the UK is a country which believes people should have access to legal representation, regardless or not whether they have the means to pay for it.

According to reports in the Daily Mail, Ms Begum has been granted legal aid to fight the Government’s decision to withdraw her citizenship to prevent her returning to the country.

This would mean Ms Begum, who is now 19 and currently living in a refugee camp, would receive money from the Legal Aid Agency – a taxpayer funded body.

Decision should not be political

When asked about the reports on Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Hunt said: “On a personal level, it makes me very uncomfortable because she made a series of choices and she knew the choices she was making, so I think we made decisions about her future based on those choices.

“However, we are a country that believes that people with limited means should have access to the resources of the state if they want to challenge the decisions the state has made about them and, for obvious reasons, those decisions are made independent from politicians.”

Mr Hunt added: “The decision to deprive her of her citizenship was taken by a politician. Obviously the decision about whether she accesses legal aid or not has to be done independently.”

Dal Babu, a former chief superintendent in the Metropolitan Police and a friend of the family, told the programme Ms Begum should have legal aid to make sure the correct process is followed.

Principle of British justice

Mr Babu said: “Isis is a murderous organisation. They are a horrendous organisation and I don’t think anyone in their right mind would be joining that organisation.

“She was a young woman. She was 15 when she was groomed. The police were aware of this, the counter-terrorism police were aware of this, the school she was at was aware of this, and the social workers at Tower Hamlets Council were aware of this.

“There has been no serious case review. Normally, when a young person dies as a result of failures in safeguarding, there is a serious case review.”

Mr Babu said that, in order for a proper review to take place, Ms Begum needed to get legal aid.

“I think legal aid is a principle of the British legal justice system. There will be people who can afford to have swanky lawyers, there will be people who have no money who are in desperate situations.”

Morality police

The British schoolgirl left her family in East London to join Isis in 2015 and marry Dutch jihadi Yago Riedijk. The couple had three children but all died as infants.

She has since asked that she be able to return to the UK, claiming she was nothing more than a housewife in Syria and had gone when she was a mere child.

But contradictory reports have suggested that she was actively working for the group as a member of its “morality police” who enforce its strict rules on female members.

Sources claimed she was a paid as enforcer of discipline and could have ordered the imprisonment and lashing of women in Raqqa, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

Other reports suggest the teenager went as far as preparing suicide vests and sewing them on to would-be bombers.

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