Now it's all the police's fault! After MI5 is blamed for evil of Jihadi John, runaway girls' families accuse the Met
- Girls aged 15 and 16 disappeared from their London homes last month
- They are now believed to be in Raqqa, the 'capital' of ISIS's territory
- Relatives of the three girls said yesterday that they no idea of their plan
- They are angry at police for not telling them about another girl's flight
- None would take the blame for failing to realise girls had been radicalised
- Police believe the girls funded the trip by stealing family jewellery
- Met chief apologises but insists police could not have stopped girls
The
families of three girls who fled the UK to join Islamic State were
facing a backlash last night for blaming the police for their plight.
Refusing
to accept any responsibility for the teenagers’ actions, relatives
queued up to denounce the authorities for supposedly allowing the trio
to reach Syria.
But none would take the blame for completely failing to realise the girls had been ensnared by Islamic extremism.
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Evidence: Khadiza's cousin Fahmida
Aziz (left), Shamima's sister Sahima Begum (centre) and Amira's father
Hussen Abase (right), appeared before the House of Commons home affairs
committee yesterday
The
families’ accusations are similar to the claim from a controversial
human rights group that MI5 agents were responsible for ‘radicalising’
IS killer Jihadi John.
Kadiza
Sultana, 16, and 15-year-olds Shamima Begum and Amira Abase fled last
month to join a close friend in Syria. They have not been heard from
since.
Yesterday,
the country’s top police officer was forced to say sorry to their
families over a misplaced letter relating to the fourth girl’s
disappearance.
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However,
senior figures, led by David Cameron, insisted parents must take
responsibility and play their part in stopping the spread of militant
beliefs. ‘Everyone has a role to play,’ said the Prime Minister.
‘Of course we need the police to act as swiftly as they can, we need Border Force to work as fast as they can.
‘But
let’s be frank about this. When you have educated British schoolgirls
at an outstanding school finding it somehow attractive to get on a plane
to travel to Syria to go and live in a country where gay people are
being thrown off buildings and British citizens are being beheaded, and
appalling brutality is being meted out, we have a problem, clearly, that
has got to involve all of us – politicians, parents, communities,
schools.
Flight: Captured by CCTV at Gatwick Airport, the three schoolgirls start out on their escape to Syria
‘Everyone has to work together. Let’s not pretend this is simply a problem that can be dealt with by policing.’
Foreign
Secretary Phillip Hammond echoed his comments saying: ‘Parents have
responsibilities, schools and community workers have responsibilities,
as well as the authorities and airports and airline operators.’
Three angry relatives of the missing girls spent more than an hour castigating police yesterday in front of a committee of MPs.
They
were led by their lawyer Tasnime Akunjee, once the representative of a
close associate of the Woolwich killers, who repeatedly demanded an
apology. He accused Scotland Yard of a catalogue of errors in its
handling of the disappearance of the trio in February and their close
friend in December.
London schoolgirl: Amira Abase poses for a photo
He
said a veil of secrecy thrown over the disappearance of the friend left
the trio’s families in the dark over the threat they faced.
The
home affairs committee was told that when the 15-year-old, who has not
been identified, flew to Turkey last year police insisted no one should
be told. In the following weeks they questioned her closest friends at
East London’s Bethnal Green Academy, including the three girls who
followed in her footsteps. Police gave the pupils letters addressed to
their parents in which they asked permission to question them further.
The families say these letters were never passed on.
Mr
Akunjee said if the parents had received the letter they would have
been ‘on notice’ for issues such as radicalisation and foreign travel.
The lawyer attacked the Met, saying it would have cost only an envelope
to ‘avoid all this’ and accused them of suggesting the schoolgirls’
families had lied.
He
said it was difficult to understand the mindset of a 15-year-old or why
people would want to join Islamic State. Appearing to make light of the
matter, he added: ‘Understanding Justin Bieber can be hard.’
Astonishingly, Lib Dem MP Julian Huppert suggested that the letters could have provoked the children to leave the country.
Mr
Akunjee agreed that this was ‘certainly a possibility’, adding: ‘When
schoolgirls are asked to rat on their friends … and the letter is headed
Metropolitan Police, that seems to risk some panic.’
Amira’s father Hussen accused the Met of placing a ‘heavy burden’ on his daughter by handing her the letter about their inquiry.
In
a 45-minute grilling in front of the families, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe
apologised for failing to communicate more directly with the families.
The
Met Police chief said he was sorry the letter did not get through.
Police have warned that girls lured to Syria by Islamic State faced sex
abuse at the hands of ‘deeply misogynistic’ militants.
They stole family gems to fund trip: How three runaways paid in cash for their flights to join ISIS in Syria
Mentor: Asqa Mahmood, a 20-year-old notorious jihadi who left Glasgow last year
The three ‘Jihadi brides’ stole family jewellery to pay for their flights out of the UK, it was revealed yesterday.
Police have discovered they paid the £1,000 cost of their flights from Gatwick airport to Istanbul in cash.
Before
they went missing, the girls are believed to have communicated with
20-year-old Aqsa Mahmood, a notorious jihadi who left Glasgow last year.
The
former medical student has become the online contact of choice for
those wanting to travel to Syria and marry a militant fighter.
One
of the girls, Shamima Begum, used her Twitter account to try to contact
her directly, asking for her to open a private line of communication.
Friends
suspect the girls were in touch with Mahmood and Islamic State
recruiters via their mobile phones in the weeks before Christmas.
Investigators
are also examining whether the trio managed to exchange messages with
their 15-year-old friend after she disappeared on December 6. Police
revealed yesterday that two women, aged 20 and 21, have been arrested in
North London over the latter’s disappearance.
The suspects were held on suspicion of an offence under the Child Abduction Act and will answer bail next month.
Mark
Rowley, who has overall responsibility for police counter terrorism,
said the three girls would not be arrested for terrorist offences if
they returned to the UK.
‘We have no evidence in this case that any of the three girls are responsible for any terrorist offences,’ he said.
The girls were pictured going through security at Gatwick Airport last month, dressed in Western clothes.
They were later seen on CCTV in Turkey, dressed in burkas and waiting for a bus to take them to the border with Syria.
The girls were pictured going through security at Gatwick Airport last month, dressed in Western clothes
They are now believed to be in Raqqa, Islamic State’s stronghold and scene of some of its most barbaric atrocities.
In
an unfortunate turn of events, the Met had a counter terrorism officer
based in Turkey but he was on annual leave when the girls touched down.
At
least 22 young women, the vast majority under the age of 20, are feared
to have travelled to Syria from the UK over the past 12 months.
My sister used to borrow a piece of jewellery off my daughters that was very sentimental to her and that’s what she’s taken
Halima Khanom, sister of runaway schoolgirl Kadiza Sultana
Police
said the total confirmed number of people travelling to fight is now
around 700, with many more suspected of flying out undetected. Last
night, the girls’ families insisted that someone else helped them with
the cost of the air tickets as the missing jewellery was not worth
£1,000.
Halima
Khanom, sister of Kadiza Sultana, said: ‘My sister used to borrow a
piece of jewellery off my daughters that was very sentimental to her and
that’s what she’s taken.
‘I
feel there is someone out there helping in terms of funding because
there’s no way my sister has got the cash to fund herself.’
The
jihadi girls’ shopping list has been found and it included details of
prices for flights to Turkey, visa money, coaches, hotels, taxis and
other supplies.
Among
items they were advised to bring were a £50 epilator, two sets of £12
underwear, socks for £4 and a phone for £75. Next to each item was as
set of initials, appearing to show either who was to purchase them or
who they were for.
The
list included tips as to how to cross over the Turkish border and into
IS-held territory, written in different handwriting at the bottom of the
page.
The total cost of the items, which includes £1,000 plane tickets to Turkey, came to £2,190.
Police wanted to help find missing friend
Police
investigating the disappearance of a 15-year-old schoolgirl handed
letters to seven of her friends asking their parents for more help.
Officers
from Scotland Yard’s counter terrorism command were desperate for clues
about why the pupil fled the country last December.
They
handed out the letter to each member of the close circle – including
the trio who were to leave only weeks later – at Bethnal Green Academy
after briefly questioning them.
Row: Police investigating the
disappearance of a 15-year-old girl handed out a letter to seven of her
friends – including the trio who were to leave only weeks later – at
Bethnal Green Academy (pictured)
The
letter is now at the centre of a row after parents of the three
teenagers said they never saw it and accused police of a clumsy mistake.
They
believe officers should have realised their children were also
vulnerable to being lured to join Islamic State. In the letter, dated
February 2, an unnamed detective appeals to the girls’ parents for help
in tracing the first Syria runaway.
He
writes: ‘I understand your daughter may have known [the missing
15-year-old] as a friend. It is my role to understand [the missing girl]
better and the reasons why she has decided to leave this country.
‘I
am trying to gather information which may help to find her and reunite
her with her family. This will help the police and partner agencies to
understand and prevent other vulnerable teenagers from disappearing. For
these reasons I seek your permission to speak to your daughter.’
The
letter goes on: ‘I would like a handwritten statement ... and this will
cover [the missing girl] and her religious beliefs, lifestyle and the
circumstances just before [the girl] left the UK.
‘...I am not investigating your own daughter and they are not under any suspicion of doing something wrong.
‘I
am simply after her help. With the school’s permission I have
introduced myself to your child and explained the above reasons why I
need their help.’
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