Shamima Begum: Home Secretary Vows To Prevent IS Teen Return

Shamima Begum in 2015 (Picture: PA).

The Home Secretary has warned he "will not hesitate" to prevent the return of Britons who travelled to join the so-called Islamic State (IS).

His comments came amid speculation over what should happen to runaway schoolgirls Shamima Begum who travelled to Syria to join IS, also known as Daesh.

But Sajid Javid says those who left the UK to join IS were "full of hate for our country". 

He told The Times: "We must remember that those who left Britain to join Daesh were full of hate for our country.

"My message is clear - if you have supported terrorist organisations abroad I will not hesitate to prevent your return.

"If you do manage to return you should be ready to be questioned, investigated and potentially prosecuted."

Ms Begum along with two other schoolgirls left their family homes in February 2015.

According to The Times, they each married an IS foreign fighter.

Ms Begum's family has pleaded for the 19-year-old, who is heavily pregnant, to be shown mercy and to be allowed to return to east London.

Ms Begum spoke to The Times at a refugee camp in northern Syria, saying she would "do anything required just to be able to come home and live quietly with my child".

Meanwhile, Security Minister Ben Wallace also warned that runaways who now want to come back to the UK must realise that "actions have consequences".

Any hopes of a rescue mission by British officials were quashed on Thursday as the Government ruled out an effort inside Syria to assist Ms Begum.

While refusing to comment on individual cases, Mr Wallace told the BBC: "I'm not putting at risk British people's lives to go and look for terrorists or former terrorists in a failed state.

"There's consular services elsewhere in the region and the strong message this Government has given for many years is that actions have consequences."

But Anthony Loyd, The Times correspondent who found Ms Begum, said she was a "15-year-old schoolgirl who made a terrible mistake... and we must do out best to rehabilitate her amongst our own people".

Ms Begum's plea has been strongly rejected by others - including the brother of Alan Henning, the British aid worker beheaded by Jihadi John, who said she should "absolutely not" be allowed back.

While no official operation to remove Ms Begum from Syria will be carried out, questions have been raised over whether Britain would be able to prevent Ms Begum's eventual return to the UK.

Since December 2015, the RAF has been targeting IS fighters in Iraq and Syria as part of Operation Shader. 

RAF aircrew based in Cyprus have been flying near daily missions over the countries as part of a coalition of nations fighting the terror group.