In an astonishing interview this morning, Shamima Begum apologised for once saying that the Manchester Arena bombing was ‘justified.’
The twenty-two year old, who fled her East London home to join terror group ISIS in Syria at the age of fifteen, appeared on Good Morning Britain from a women’s and children’s camp in Syria, where she was quizzed on previous comments made on the devastating attack.
Dressed in Western attire, Begum said she regretted her actions and asked the British people for forgiveness. She said: “I do not believe that one evil justifies another evil. I don’t think that women and children should be killed for other people’s motives and for other people’s agendas.”
She then insisted that she didn’t know that women and children had been hurt in the Manchester attack, saying: “I did not know about the Manchester bombing when I was asked. I did not know that people were killed, I did not know that women and children were hurt because of it.”
She also apologised to anyone who has been affected by Isis and the terror group’s actions. She said: “I’m in a different camp, obviously. I have friends now. I have a security shield now around me with my friends and I feel more confident in myself.
“I obviously don’t have my son anymore so I only have to think about my safety so if I do get attacked for taking my hijab off, it’s on me. While I’m in this camp, I’m trying to change myself. I’m trying to better myself, because I can.”
In her interview, Begum also insisted that she could be a big help to the UK government in its fight against terrorism and online grooming, saying with confidence: “I think I could very much help you in your fight against terrorism because you clearly don’t know what you’re doing.”
Begum made headlines back in 2015 when she and two friends travelled to Syria from London to join ISIS. The girls went on to marry Jihadi fighters, Begum herself marrying a Dutch recruit.
She was found heavily pregnant in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019. The baby later died of pneumonia and Begum said she had previously lost two other children. Ever since, the young woman has been appealing the revoking of her British citizenship, while the Home Office continues to stress that she remains a ‘security risk.’