The United Kingdom has stripped more than 150 suspected jihadists and other criminals of their British citizenship in an effort to block them from returning.
The Sunday Times reports that government has issued what is called a “deprivation orders,” anticipating that the coming collapse of the Islamic State caliphate will leads to an influx of British Islamist militants from Syria.
The Times said that more than forty suspected militants have had their right to a passport removed this year, with about thirty of them targeted since March.
VOA reports that those who have had their citizenship revoked include both jihadists and “jihadi brides,” that is women who have travelled to Syria and married ISIS fighters there.
Government sources said that all those whose British citizenship has been revoked are dual nationals, some of them born in Britain to parents who immigrated to the United Kingdom. British law bars the taking away of citizenship if it results in an individual becoming stateless.
A senior security official told the Sunday Times: “There’s an awful lot of people we have found who will never be coming home again.
“Our number one preference is to get them on trial. If we don’t think that’s possible, we use disruption techniques.”
Last week the Home Office revealed that six terror suspects in Britain who cannot be deported or prosecuted are subject to Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIMS).
Security minister Ben Wallace said: “Prosecution and conviction is always our preference for dealing with terrorists.
“TPIMS are one of a range of powers at our disposal to disrupt terrorism-related activity where prosecution is not possible.”
