Statement from the Secretary of State for the Home Departmen

#Statement from the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the Return of British Militants.

 

There must be the most severe of consequences for those who choose to engage in terror and commit atrocities abroad. Whether that be in Iraq, Syria or another part of the world all together.

No matter what role they play in supporting militant groups like Daesh, they cannot expect an automatic right to return.

Over 800 British citizens, in their hatred for the values we hold and the lives we live, travelled to Iraq and Syria to fight for Daesh. They joined a death cult determined to destroy our democracy.

A group that uses the rape of women and children as a weapon of war. A group that has butchered and beheaded countless prisoners of war and civilians, including British citizens. A group that stones women to death for adultery, burns its captives alive and throws those it suspects of being homosexual from the tops of buildings.

We cannot overlook the threat of those who now choose to return. They are likely to have acquired both the skills and connections that make them potentially very dangerous. Not my words Mr Deputy Speaker, but the words of the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service.

I will be clear, where they pose any threat whatsoever - this government will not hesitate to prevent their return. This includes, wielding the full force of the law to deprive dangerous individuals of their British citizenship. Where they do return, they can expect to be prosecuted to the fullest possible extent.

We must use this power with responsibility, where doing so would be conducive to the public good and in compliance with the British Nationality Act of 1981. In the life of this parliament the Home Office will bring a Bill before this house granting the Home Office greater powers in restricting entry to dangerous individuals suspected of engaging in acts of terror.

Every Home Secretary has a duty to make use of the powers before them and take reasonable action to protect national security and all those who visit, work and live in Britain. Mr Deputy Speaker, I can reassure this house that my government will not be derelict in these duties. I commend this statement to the House.