Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what considerations satisfied him that depriving Shamima Begum of her British citizenship was conducive to the public good.

We do not comment on individual cases.

The British Nationality Act 1981 provides the Secretary of State with powers to deprive a person of citizenship status. Section 40(2) allows the Secretary of State to deprive any person of British citizenship, should they deem it conducive to the public good to do so.

Conducive deprivation will be used in the context of National Security, espionage, acts of terrorism, unacceptable (extremist) behaviours, war crimes and serious and organised crime.

As I explained to the House on Wednesday, I carefully consider such decisions personally on a case by case basis and where a decision has to be made, I will have to be confident it is not only conducive to the public good but is compliant with the law.

I will look at the secret intelligence and all relevant material to determine the threat. Officials and partner agencies will put together a case, setting out all relevant information to satisfy me that the conducive test has been met.