ISIS fighter Jack Letts, dubbed Jihadi Jack, has been stripped of his British citizenship, sparking a furious diplomatic row with Canada. Letts, 24, had held duel UK and Canadian citizenship but declared himself an ‘enemy of Britain’ after fleeing his Oxfordshire home to fight in Syria.
Letts had joined ISIS ranks in Syria back in 2014, but after being captured by Kurdish authorities in 2017, he begged to be allowed back to the UK and, despite previously saying he wanted to be a suicide bomber, insisted he had ‘no intention of blowing up’ Britons.
According to The Mail on Sunday, the UK Home Office has torn up his British passport, making him the responsibility of the Canadian government. The decision was one of the last made under Theresa May as prime minister.
The decision has sparked fury in Ottawa, with fears of a public spat when Canadian PM Justin Trudeau meets Boris Johnson at the G7 summit in France next weekend.
Letts, who traveled to the Middle East in 2014, is now among more than 120 dual nationals who have been stripped of their British citizenship since 2016, including ISIS bride Shaima Begum.
Begum was one of three girls from Bethnal Green, east London, who left the UK aged just 15 in February 2015 and traveled to Syria to join ISIS. It was thought she may have a claim in Bangladesh because of her family background, something Bangladeshi officials denied.
According to The Mail on Sunday, the decision to revoke Letts’ citizenship was one of the last actions of Theresa May’s administration, led by Sajid Javid.
“Decisions on depriving a dual national of citizenship are based on substantial advice from officials, lawyers and the intelligence agencies and all the available information. This power is one way we can counter the terrorist threat posed by some of the most dangerous individuals and keep our country safe,” a Home Office spokesman said.
