The news comes after support for Ms. Begum grew on Monday following allegations from family solicitor Tasnime Akunjee that the UK government had breached the Official Secrets Act for leaking intelligence reports to media, damaging her reputation, according to him.
UK Labour and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has joined the outcry of those urging the government to allow Shamima Begum to remain a citizen of the UK, adding that she had “legal rights, just like anybody else.
Mr. Corbyn added that the whole point of legal aid was that, when faced with prosecution, “you're entitled to be represented and that's a fundamental rule of law, a fundamental point in any democratic society.”
But UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Monday that he was “very uncomfortable” with the notion that Ms. Begum would receive taxpayer money to fight against the government's decision to revoke her citizenship, stating that she “knew the choices she was making” and that “we made decisions about her future based on those choices.”
‘It Makes Me Very Uncomfortable' — Hunt on Daesh Bride Begum Receiving Legal Aid
Mr. Akunjee, who is representing Ms. Begum's family pro bono, also said that he was acting on behalf of others in Syrian camps who had lost their nationality rights over their activities, adding that such cases would increase over time.
But Ms. Begum's case has been transferred to Birnberg Peirce, a…
