Beyond the Headlines podcast: The curious case of the runaway ISIS recruit

In 2014, Shemima Begum made headlines when she left the UK to go to Syria. Now, she's pleading to return to her home with her newborn child

Shemima Begum fled the UK when she was 15 to join ISIS and was recently found in a Syrian camp.

Four years on from when she left, she's now pleading to return home with her newborn child.

But what does that mean for the UK? Begum may be just one of many cases where former ISIS members want to return to their countries of origin.

This week in Beyond the Headlines podcast, The National spoke to Alistair Burt, the UK Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa.

In this episode, he breaks down the situation with Begum and her child and also discusses the crisis in the Syrian Rukban camp, where 50,000 refugees have been cut off from aid and left to starve.

Here is Mina Aldroubi’s exclusive interview with the minister in Abu Dhabi.