Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many women and children who have been detained in the al-Hol or al-Roj camps at any point since 25 November they (1) have withdrawn, and (2) plan to withdraw, British citizenship from; whether those people were subject to specific charges or received a hearing before any such withdrawal; whether any of those people are now stateless; and what duty of care they have to such people.

We do not comment on individual cases.

Figures for conducive deprivation orders, which are made under Section 40(2) of the 1981 British Nationality Act, have been published as part of the HM Government Transparency Report: Disruptive and Investigatory Powers. Four reports have been published to date in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020.

Figures are provided on an annual basis and a breakdown for other time periods or for deprivations linked to specific locations is not available.

Deprivation of citizenship will only be used when it is necessary and proportionate and is a serious step that is not taken lightly. Criminal charges or proceedings are not a pre-requisite for deprivation.

When seeking to deprive a person of their British citizenship on the basis that to do so is ‘conducive to the public good’, the law requires that this action only proceeds if the individual concerned would not be left stateless.

Requests for consular assistance made by individuals abroad, are considered on a case by case basis.

Those who remain in the conflict zone include some of the most dangerous, choosing to stay to fight, or otherwise support Daesh. These individuals often pose a greater threat to the UK than individuals who returned earlier in the conflict.

It is important that we do not make judgements about the national security risk someone poses based on the gender or age. Women can pose as significant risk to our national security as returning male fighters.