A member of the IS terror group dubbed the ISIS Beatles has applied to return to the UK.
El Shafee Elsheikh, known as Jihadi Ringo, was part of a gang that videoed the beheadings of two American journalists and British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
He was found guilty of eight charges of hostage taking and murder by a US court in 2022 and later sentenced to eight life sentences without the possibility of parole.
He was also stripped of his British citizenship.
The former mechanic from White City in west London is said to have arrived in the UK as a child refugee from Sudan before leaving for Syria in 2012.
He was arrested by Kurdish-led Syrian Defence Forces in 2018 and eventually confessed to his role in the scheme to interrogators as well as media interviewers. He was jailed alongside fellow “Beatle” Alexanda Kotey, known as Jihadi George, in 2018.
Elsheikh has now applied to move from his Colorado prison to a British jail under the International Prison Transfer Program, according to The Sun.
The revelation has sparked outrage from victims’ families, who believe his return to the UK would be an “outrageous insult”.
David Haines’ daughter Bethany told The Sun: “The idea someone this evil could be back in a British prison makes my skin crawl.”
Families fear Elsheikh could move to somewhere like London’s Belmarsh, where inmates have access to TVs, game consoles, gyms, workshops, and mosques — and can mix with other extremists.
A US notice sent to victims’ relatives, seen by The Sun, says: “This is to inform you that El Shafee Elsheikh has applied to transfer to the UK, the country of which the inmate is a national.
“The United States has prisoner transfer relationships with many countries.
“These treaties permit foreign nationals to apply to transfer and serve their sentence in their home country. Before making a decision, the US collects information about the prisoner, the views of law enforcement and any views provided by victims.”
Elsheikh is understood to have applied so he can be closer to his family and friends.
Although he was stripped of his British citizenship in 2018, Elsheikh is still permitted to request the transfer.
Haines’ daughter Bethany said she believes Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer would allow the move as the Government seeks to maintain friendly relationships with the White House.
She added: “He is one of the worst terrorists to come from this country and it’s an outrageous insult to our families for him to apply to return to one of our prisons for an easier life.
“I beg the UK government to act to make sure he never sets foot on these shores again.”
The gang were nicknamed The Beatles because of their distinctive British accents.
However, the name prompted backlash from drummer Ringo Starr, who said it went against everything the pop band stood for.
“The four of us absolutely stood for peace and love. But we are not in control,” he told The Standard.
Elsheikh’s family claimed he had been “brainwashed” into becoming an extremist after going to sermons at local mosques for little more than two weeks.
He was arrested for taking part in a demonstration outside the US embassy in London in 2011 in support of the 9/11 attacks and left the UK for Syria the following year.
