The Observer view on Isis children stranded in Syria | Observer editorial

Priti Patel's resistance to bringing back the British orphans is not only wrong but it could create a security threat in the future

What is Priti Patel so afraid of? Is it British children orphaned during the conflict with Islamic State who want to return home? Or is she scared that fellow rightwing Tories may accuse her of being "soft" on terrorism? The home secretary says the stranded children, about 60 in total, pose "security concerns". As the Observer reported last week, Patel and her predecessor, Sajid Javid, helped block a rescue plan that could have ended their ordeal.

Thanks to the intervention of a Birmingham judge and a welcome show of compassion by the Foreign Office, the barrier to returnees erected by Patel was partially breached last week. A handful of orphans, apparently all from the same family, were allowed back into the country anonymously after a British diplomat travelled to meet the Kurdish officials holding them. Their parents, who took them to Syria in 2015 and later died, reportedly had links to Isis.

Continue reading...