Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the removal of the passports of British Jihadists who have gone to fight in Syria and Iraq, in order to prevent their return to the United Kingdom.

Lord Bates

The Government has long-standing powers under the Immigration Act 2014 to deprive persons of their British citizenship if such deprivation is deemed ‘conducive to the public good’, for instance if a person has been involved in threats to national security, war crimes, serious and organised crime or unacceptable behaviours such as glorification of terrorism.

Deprivation of British citizenship results in simultaneous loss of the right of abode in the United Kingdom. Once deprived, an individual becomes subject to immigration powers and can be deported or removed from the UK or prevented from returning to the UK if deprivation action occurs whilst they are abroad.

In addition under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, the Home Secretary may impose a temporary exclusion order on a British citizen suspected of involvement in terrorism-related activity outside the UK. The individual’s passport would be cancelled, but the individual may return to the UK in accordance with a permit to return.