Two other IS brides stripped of UK citizenship by Home Office, according to reports

Ellen Manning

Two more IS brides being held with their children in Syrian refugee camps have been reportedly stripped of their British citizenship.

The Sunday Times reported that the two women, who between them have five boys under the age of eight, had their UK nationality removed after marrying members of a terror cell linked to the murder of western hostages.

The newspaper named the women as sisters Reema Iqbal, 30, and her sister Zara, 28, who reportedly left for Syria in 2013.

The Home Office said it did not comment on individual cases.

A spokesman said: “Any decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on all available evidence and not taken lightly.”

<em>The Home Office said it will not comment on individual cases (Picture: PA)</em>
The Home Office said it will not comment on individual cases (Picture: PA)

The reports come after the death of the baby son of IS bride Shamima Begum, who was stripped of her UK citizenship by the Home Office after resurfacing in a Syria refugee camp.

The 19-year-old had controversially said she wanted to return to the UK after feeling to Syria at the age of 15.

The death of her three-week-old son has reignited controversy over the case.

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On Saturday, his Labour counterpart, Diane Abbott, said Home Secretary Sajid Javid had “behaved shamefully” over the “tragedy that might have been avoided”.

She added: “If the mother and baby had been brought home, the mother, Shamima Begum, would have faced British justice, but the baby might have lived.”

Conservative MP Phillip Lee told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he was “deeply concerned” by Mr Javid’s decision, which was “driven by a sort of populism”.

<em>The death of Shamima Begum’s baby has reignited debate over the decision to strip her of her citizenship (Picture: AP)</em>
The death of Shamima Begum’s baby has reignited debate over the decision to strip her of her citizenship (Picture: AP)

Former director of public prosecutions Lord Macdonald accused Mr Javid of “moral cowardice” and said his move risked creating a “more dangerous world where stateless individuals roam with no allegiance and the death of unprotected innocents, in this case a vulnerable British baby”.

A Government spokesman said: “The death of any child is tragic and deeply distressing for the family.

“The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has consistently advised against travel to Syria since April 2011.”