Former al-Qaeda member DEMANDS ISIS fighters return to UK - 'We have to bring them back'
A FORMER al-Qaeda member has demanded ISIS fighters be returned to the UK after they have left the terrorist organisation.
Aimee Dean told BBC Newsnight that the fighters should be questioned in an “offshore facility” before a decision on whether they are allowed to return is made. His comments come after the Home Secretary Sajid Javid revoked the British citizenship of Shamima Begum, who fled the UK to join the terror group in Syria. Mr Dean said he understood why Mr Javid had to make the decision but said it was wrong.
He told the show’s presenter Kirsty Wark: “The Home Secretary had no choice because he needed to do something.
“He had to be seen to prevent because if he allowed her back and she comes and does something like a suicide bombing or flees the country to go to another ISIS state, they will blame him.
“The problem is we have to bring them back and it needs to be done through a proper secure way.
“We have to divide them into two categories - the cooperatives and the un-cooperatives.
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“And at the same time we need to determine this offshore facility.
“We could build a facility in British bases like in Cyprus.”
Ms Begum, from Bethnal Green, East London, fled with two other schoolgirls in 2015.
She married an IS fighter who is now said to be in captivity. Her two other children have died.
She sparked fury on Monday by seeming to justify the Manchester Arena bomb attack that killed 22 in 2017.
Earlier this week, the Home Secretary Sajid Javid told Begum's family he was revoking the 19-year-old's citizenship amid fears she could be a terror risk.
On Tuesday a leading academic also waded into the debate on the BBC’s show.
King’s College London’s Shiraz Maher said Mr Javid’s decision to revoke Ms Begum’s citizenship was “racist” and could create “a dangerous situation” for Muslims in the country.