Jeremy Hunt admits granting Shamima Begum legal aid would make him 'very uncomfortable'
Jeremy Hunt has admitted he would be "very uncomfortable" with Shamima Begum being granted legal aid to challenge the revocation of her British citizenship.
The foreign secretary said Begum "knew the choices she was making" when she fled Britain to marry an Islamic State fighter at the age of 15.
Mr Hunt said any decision to award Begum legal aid must be taken independently. Begum had her British citizenship stripped earlier this year but her family are challenging the decision.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Hunt said: "On a personal level, it makes me very uncomfortable because she made a series of choices and she knew the choices she was making, so I think we made decisions about her future based on those choices.
"However, we are a country that believes that people with limited means should have access to the resources of the state if they want to challenge the decisions the state has made about them and, for obvious reasons, those decisions are made independent from politicians.
"The decision to deprive her of her citizenship was taken by a politician. Obviously the decision about whether she accesses legal aid or not has to be done independently."
Mr Hunt's comments came after authorities were accused of being aware that Begum was being "groomed" before she fled the UK, but failed to inform her family.
Dal Babu, an ex-chief superintendent in the Metropolitan Police, alleged counter-terror police, Begum's school and Tower Hamlets council failed to raise the alarm.
Mr Babu today called for a "case review", which could examine any perceived failings in safeguarding, amid claims her family were not informed she fell victim to grooming.
He told the Today programme: "Isis is a murderous organisation. They are a horrendous organisation and I don't think anyone in their right mind would be joining that organisation.
"She was a young woman. She was 15 when she was groomed.
"The police were aware of this, the counter-terrorism police were aware of this, the school she was at was aware of this, and the social workers at Tower Hamlets Council were aware of this.
"Despite all of that they did not share that information with the family."
