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PM urged to strip UK citizenship from ‘jihadi terrorists and Assad supporters’

by DD Staff

December 11, 2024

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to strip UK citizenship from some people wanting to return from Syria

key takeaways

If any "jihadi terrorists and supporters of Assad" wish to return from Syria, Sir Keir Starmer should revoke their UK citizenship, according to Kemi Badenoch.

The leader of the Conservative Party criticized Prime Minister Sir Keir's immigration record and suggested that the overthrow of Bashar Assad's government would lead to a rise in small boat arrivals to the UK.

Mrs Badenoch used Prime Minister’s Questions to claim Sir Keir had “consistently backed criminals”, call on him to support a migration cap and ask him to apologise for signing a letter in February 2020 which called for a deportation flight to be halted.

Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons (House of Commons/UK Parliament)

She added “one of those criminals” who was not deported went on to murder someone, adding to Sir Keir in the Commons: “He was able to stay here and murder because people like this man campaigned against deporting criminals.”

Sir Keir defended his recorded and pointed to his five years of service as director of public prosecutions, while also accusing Mrs Badenoch of being a “champion” of the Tories’ “one nation experiment in open borders”.

On Monday, the UK announced it had paused decisions on asylum applications from Syrians following the collapse of the Assad regime.

Millions of Syrians fled the country after the outbreak of civil war and the Assad regime’s brutal crackdown on opponents.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions (House of Commons/UK Parliament)

In her concluding remarks at PMQs, Mrs Badenoch said: “The Prime Minister has consistently backed criminals over law-abiding British people.

“He defended terrorists, like Hizb ut-Tahrir in the European court. He argued all immigration law had a racist undercurrent. He voted against life sentences for people smugglers.

“He voted against more than 100 measures to control migration. He even said it was wrong when the Conservatives took away Shamima Begum’s citizenship.”

Ms Begum, who has been living in a Syrian refugee camp, was stripped of her citizenship after travelling to so-called Islamic State-controlled territory in the country as a 15-year-old in 2015.

Mrs Badenoch added: “Events in Syria mean we may see more small boat arrivals. For once will he take the side of the British people and strip citizenship from jihadi terrorists and supporters of Assad who want to come back and destroy this country?”

Sir Keir replied: “I was director of public prosecutions for five years. Unlike anyone on their benches, I was prosecuting for five years, hundreds of thousands of criminals, that includes huge terrorist gangs.

“I was working for three of those five years with the then-home secretary Theresa May, who commended the work that I did at the end of those five years. So for her to stand there and say, ‘I haven’t done anything in law enforcement’, I dedicated five years of my life to law enforcement, locking up criminals, which is more than she can say.”

Labour has previously said Sir Keir was asked to give advice to Hizb ut-Tahri in a legal dispute between the group and the German government, adding he did not formally represent them.