Julia Hartley-Brewer outraged at out of touch BBC over Shamima Begum podcast

Shamima Begum has said she understands public anger towards her, but insisted she is not a “bad person” in a series of BBC interviews. Ms Begum told The Shamima Begum Story podcast that she accepts she is viewed “as a danger, as a risk”, but blamed her portrayal in the media. She added: “I’m just so much more than Isis (another term for the so-called Islamic State) and I’m so much more than everything I’ve been through.” Ms Begum was 15 when she travelled from Bethnal Green, east London, through Turkey and into IS-controlled territory with two other schoolgirls in 2015. The 23-year-old is now locked in a legal battle with the UK Government to try to have her citizenship restored. It was revoked on national security grounds shortly after she was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019. Lawyers for Ms Begum have said she should have been treated as a victim of child trafficking and conflict resolution experts have described the Government’s approach towards her as misguided. #talktv #talkradio