Such information could aid a prosecution if teenager who fled to join Isis returned to UK

The Metropolitan police are attempting to gain access to unpublished material held by journalists who interviewed Shamima Begum, one of the teenage girls who ran away from east London to join Islamic State in 2015, ahead of a potential prosecution.

Begum had her British citizenship revoked earlier this year by the then home secretary, Sajid Javid, which left her effectively stateless. Begum’s family is challenging the decision in the courts.

Scotland Yard is trying to force the BBC, ITN, Sky News and the Times to hand over material they hold on her under a provision of the Terrorism Act 2000, which could potentially aid a prosecution if Begum were granted the right to return to the UK.

The Times, Sky News and ITN have chosen to fight the relatively unusual proposed order collectively. The BBC is facing a separate request for journalistic material relating to Begum and would not comment on whether it intended to object in the courts, a situation that was described as remaining “neutral” by one individual involved in the legal proceedings.

The media traditionally opposes police requests for material gathered for journalistic purposes, because it can break agreements between reporters and interviewees.

The Met said officers would contact media organisations “if they believe that they may have information or evidence that could assist a criminal investigation.

“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.”

A hearing was due to take place at the Old Bailey on Tuesday morning, but was postponed after the assigned judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, concluded he was too senior to hear the case based on a quirk in the way terrorism legislation is written.

The Times reporter Anthony Loyd was the first journalist to track down Begum, and spent 90 minutes alone with her in a Syrian refugee camp in February. He interviewed her again after the death of her baby son, and other major British broadcasters also recorded interviews with her.

Begum, who married a Dutch Isis fighter, has said she regrets running away from Bethnal Green to join the terrorist group, and wants to return home to the UK. Now believed to be 19 years old, she has had three children, all of whom have died.

The British government can revoke citizenship as long as it does not leave people stateless. Javid, who was preparing for an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to become Conservative leader when he took away her British passport, insisted his action was legal because Begum’s parents were Bangladeshi nationals, which he said entitled her to a passport from Bangladesh.

Dhaka disagreed, however, and Begum remains in a camp in Syria while the legal case continues.