Girls who went to Manchester gig in 2017 never came home so why should Shamima Begum, says Arena attack survivor
TEACHER Jade Clough - seriously injured in the 2017 suicide bomb attack on the Manchester Arena which claimed 22 lives - says Shamima Begum should never be allowed back to the UK.
The former jihadi bride had her citizenship appeal rejected today banning her from returning to Britain.
The 23-year-old who was stripped of her British citizenship on national security grounds in 2019 has been fighting to be allowed back into the UK.
The decision to keep her out of Britain was announced by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission on Wednesday after a five-day hearing in November last year.
Victims of the Manchester Arena bombing have told The Sun they fully support the decision.
Jade Clough said: “Shamima Begum should stay where she is.
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“She chose to go to a war zone when she was a teenager but girls her age who chose to go to a concert in Manchester never came back.
“Those innocent pop fans never came home so why should she?
“We all make choices and now she has to live with hers.”
Jade, 35, from Stockport, Gtr Manchester added: “Begum has absolutely no place back in British society.
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"It’s clear to me she’s never shown a shred of remorse.
“My life was changed forever by what a Islamic suicide bomber did that day. I take sleeping tablets now but still have nightmares.
“My leg was badly injured but the mental scars are still there from what I saw that night, so it’s infuriating to see Begum trying to justify terrorism.”
DEFENCE SECRETARY 'PLEASED WITH DECISION'
It comes as the Defence Secretary today declared Begum is not “welcome on our streets” because she was “active with Islamic State”.
Ben Wallace told The Sun: “I never took, and nor did the Home Secretary, any of the decisions lightly to strip people of their citizenship.
“And we did so based on evidence, intelligence, and reasons that were there to protect society. I’m pleased the tribunal upheld the ruling.”
He warned that anyone “active” with IS “would not be welcome back on our streets”.
Shamima was just 15 years old when she left her home in Bethnal Green, East London, with two school pals to join ISIS in Syria.
We all make choices and now she has to live with hers
Jade Clough
Supporters claimed she was a victim of trafficking - but the government said she went to Syria with her "eyes wide open" and was a danger to society.
Judge Robert Jay said "reasonable people will differ" over the circumstances of the case.
But he said the Commission found the Home Office acted correctly after considering "all the circumstances" and sifting through "voluminous material".
Following the decision in the Shamima Begum case on Wednesday, a Downing Street spokesman said: "The Government's priority will always be maintaining our national security and decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are not taken lightly.
"We will always ensure the safety and security of the UK and will not allow anything to jeopardise this."
ISIS BRIDE
Shamima is currently living at a camp in northern Syria following the collapse of the ISIS "Caliphate" - where she is now likely to remain.
Earlier this month, she made a fresh bid for sympathy in a new BBC documentary - but also admitted it was "exciting" being smuggled into Syria to join gun-toting killers.
The ISIS bride told how she and her two pals flew from Gatwick to Istanbul, where an ISIS handler waited with them for a bus.
After arriving in Gaziantep near the Syrian border, they met ISIS smuggler Mohammed Rasheed - who was also allegedly selling information to Canadian spies.
Shamima says they switched cars "about seven times" before crossing into the ISIS badlands.
Shamima went to ISIS capital Raqqa where she married Dutch jihadi Yago Riedijk - six years older at 21.
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They had three children who died from malnutrition and disease.
The BBC was slammed for giving Begum a "platform" last month.
