Home Secretary Sajid Javid has warned Islamic State recruit Shamima Begum of "consequences" as she attempts to return to Britain.

The 19-year-old, who has just given birth to a baby boy in a Syrian refugee camp, wants to return to the UK having fled to join the terror group in 2015.

Answering an urgent question in the House of Commons, Mr Javid admitted the UK could not prevent the return of British citizens, as international law does not allow governments to make people stateless.

However, he said the Commons "will have seen the comments of Shamima Begum in the media and it will have to draw its own conclusions".

He added: "Quite simply: If you back terror, there must be consequences."


Image: Sajid Javid revealed around 350 have returned to the UK from Syria and Iraq

Mr Javid said the government "cannot ignore the threat" of those who left Britain to travel to Syria or Iraq, with more than 350 having returned and a similar number still believed to be in the Middle East.

He revealed an estimated 900 people left the UK to join terror groups in Syria and Iraq, with 20% having since been killed in battle, 40% having returned, and 40% still somewhere in the region.

"Whatever role they took in the so-called caliphate, they all supported a terrorist organisation and in doing so they have shown they hate our country and the values we stand for," he said.

"This is a death cult that enslaved and raped thousands of Yazidi girls and celebrated attacks on our shores, including the tragic Manchester bombing that targeted young girls."

Mr Javid told MPs, now that IS is "crumbling", some of their recruits want to return to the UK.

"I have been very clear, where I can and where any threat remains I will not hesitate to prevent this," he said.

Mr Javid also assured the Commons that the government is "not going to risk the lives of any British officials - soldiers or anyone" in order to help or rescue anyone who travelled to Syria and Iraq to support terror groups.

IS bride full interview: I was okay with beheadings

The home secretary revealed more than 100 people have been barred from entering Britain due to their status as foreigners, or by having their British citizenship stripped if they are dual nationals.

But, he highlighted how international law does not allow the UK to remove citizenship from those who are only British nationals.

Yet, Mr Javid vowed that "where individuals do manage to return, they will be questioned, investigated and potentially prosecuted".

Former defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon spoke of the need to avoid British or other nationals "ending up in a new Guantanamo".

"There may need to be an international agreement about how these cases are to be handled and perhaps even an international terrorist court to make sure they are properly prosecuted," he said.

Mr Javid assured his ex-cabinet colleague the UK is "working closely" with the US and European nations "to see what more we can do to make sure in every case justice is done and where possible justice is done in the region".

The home secretary also told MPs he believes a suggested updating of ancient treason laws to deal with returning IS recruits is "worth looking at carefully".

However, Mr Javid stressed new legislation recently introduced by the government had created "new powers to prosecute returnees"; extended the list of offences committed overseas that action can be taken on; and created new laws to ban British citizens from entering designated terrorist hotspots without any good reason.

In a recent interview with Sky News from the Syrian refugee camp, Shamima Begum said she was "just a housewife" during her time with IS.

She married a young Dutch fighter called Yago Riedijk three weeks after she arrived in Syria.

She admitted she was aware of beheadings and executions being carried out by the extremists, but said she was "okay with it" because she had heard "Islamically that is allowed".