The 22-year-old from east London, who fled her home in 2015 to join terror group Isis, was questioned today on comments she made about the bombing on Good Morning Britain.
Shamima Begum pictured in 2019 // BBC
Asked for a message to Boris Johnson, Begum said that she could help the Prime Minister in his “fight against terrorism because [he] clearly don’t know what [he’s] doing”.
ADVERTISEMENT
She told Good Morning Britain: “I want to say that you are clearly struggling with extremism and terrorism in your country. And I want to help with that with giving my own experience from with these extremists and what they say and how they persuade people to do what they do and to come to places like Syria.
“I think I could very much help you in your fight against terrorism, because you clearly don’t know what you’re doing.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Begum added that while she believes the only crime she committed was being “dumb enough” to come to Isis, she still deserves a fair trial.
GMB
She said: “Honestly, the only crime I think I committed was being dumb enough to come to Isis, and even that can be refuted because I was 15 when I came, and you can’t, you know, judge a 15-year-old for making a mistake which he or she very quickly regretted making.
“If you really think I did do this, why don’t you bring me back and put me on trial, and hear my side of the story.
ADVERTISEMENT
“If you if you honestly believe that, don’t you think I just have to go to jail for it.
“The fact that you think I should rather rot here, instead of face trial… the democracy that you live in, says that everyone deserves a fair trial.”
EXCLUSIVE: @susannareid100 questions Shamima Begum on how she can seek forgiveness after her comments on the Manchester Arena terrorist attack.
In 2019 Ms Begum said the Manchester Arena attack was “justified” because of airstrikes that killed civilians in Syria. pic.twitter.com/WO8nGp60uP
Richard Madeley also grilled Ms Begum on her 2019 comments about the Manchester Arena attack. She said the attack was “justified” because of airstrikes that killed civilians in Syria.
She said: “I didn’t know about the Manchester bombings when I was asked I didn’t know that women and children were killed.
“I had no connection to the outside world when I was in Isis. I didn’t have a phone, my husband couldn’t use the internet.
ADVERTISEMENT
“So we were really unaware of anything going on outside. We were only aware of what was going on in the Middle East. I know it is hard for some people to believe.”
ISIS bride Shamima Begum drops Islamic garb for Western clothes
Richard Madeley asked her why she decided to stay in the terror group after Begum claimed she would “rather die” than return to Isis.
She told him: “It was not possible to leave at all. You had to find connections and even then those connections could be fake Isis police trying to find people trying to leave so they could put them in prison.
“My husband was being watched very closely by Isis he couldn’t even use a phone or go to an internet café so how can we find connections to leave?
“You had to have a lot of money and we didn’t have access to that money to enable us to leave.”
Speaking from Syria and wearing a black Nike baseball cap, Begum said it was “not justifiable to kill innocent people in the name of religion”.
UK News
Greater Manchester customers slam Sainsbury’s policy that makes them ‘feel like thieves’
Georgina Pellant
Customers at a number of Sainsbury’s stores in Greater Manchester have been left fuming as the result of a policy requiring receipts to be scanned before they can exit
Upon leaving stores, shoppers at Sainsbury’s supermarkets in Fallowfield and Salford are being confronted with automated barriers that can only be opened by scanning their receipt – or by contacting a store assistant.
Many have taken to Reddit to slam the new policy, with several claiming it is a ‘pointless waste of money and time’ and others saying they have been left ‘feeling like thieves’.
The receipt barriers, some shoppers say, only ‘makes life harder’ – yet it appears that Sainsbury’s is planning to roll them out at other stores across the UK too, following on from the introduction of cameras at its self-service stations in recent years.
The move by the supermarket echoes similar moves by the American supermarket Walmart, which is notorious for staff approaching ‘random’ customers at its exits and asking them to produce their receipts as they leave stores.
You don’t have to comply with this. Just push the barrier open and keep walking.@sainsburys need to learn to treat their customers better. pic.twitter.com/aCnPyxixWu
A series of recent posts on Reddit exposes several threads in which users commented on the introduction of the receipt barriers, both here in Greater Manchester as well as further afield.
The social media site reveals that stores in Fallowfield and Salford have both become unpopular since they started adopting the policy, which requires customers to scan receipts in order for them to exit.
If receipts are not scanned, barriers prevent customers from leaving until a store assistant is contacted.
One Reddit user has posted a picture of a notice in one of the Sainsbury’s store, reading: “We’ve introduced new barriers as you leave this store.”
“You’ll need to take your receipt and scan this on the barcode reader in front of the barriers.”
@sainsburys Salford New Bailey Square- security colleague very unpleasantly ordered me to scan the receipt from the Costa machine instead of tapping the drink on the screen. A meal deal so wouldn’t effect the price. Why is the option to tap on the screen if not allowed to use?
— Andrew O'Callaghan (@andyocallaghan) May 7, 2023
The original poster said they were ‘not a fan of how this is spreading’, leading other users on the site to agree.
Another person said the policy was a ‘pointless waste of money and time’ that ‘just makes everyone’s life harder, whilst another customer added: “Looks like Sainsbury’s can get f****d then.”
@sainsburys Salford making you scan your receipt after using self scan. What a big fat waste of paper. Grow up
@sainsburys I've just been locked in to self-checkout for not getting a receipt. By treating me as a thief you have lost me as a decades-long customer. Outrageous. Open more checkouts if you want to verify all purchases. You are greedy and hostile. Goodbye and good riddance.
The installation of the barriers has left some customers “feeling like thieves” since their arrival last year but it appears that the supermarket has no plans to suspend the rollout, despite the backlash from shoppers.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said that the barriers are “one of a range of security measures” installed in a “small number of stores” but would not disclose how many it has installed in the UK.
Featured image –Twitter
UK News
Walkers is opening a string of crisp butty cafes across the UK
Georgina Pellant
We all love a crisp butty here in the UK. Or, at least 98% of us do, according to research conducted by Walkers.
There’s simply no denying how those crunchy slices of potato – be they deep-fried, air-fried or baked – add a lift to even the most humdrum sarnie.
So when we heard the news that Walkers is opening a host of crisp butty cafes across the UK we were pretty gassed, to say the least.
Locations are yet to be confirmed, with each shop set to run a unique menu of crisp-filled sandwiches alongside their own regionally-inspired offerings, reportsThe Hoot.
Loaded up with the likes of Quavers, Wotsits and Monster Munch, the new UK cafes will serve up the very best crunchy sandwiches created in collaboration with Max Halley, the guru behind the famous London sandwich shop Max’s.
Whilst most of the sandwich combinations are still being kept under wraps, we have heard talk of a fish finger Monster Munch hybrid with added chipotle mayo, Pic De Gallo and cabbage on focaccia, aka the ‘‘Might Monster Muncher’.
The decision to open the new UK crisp sandwich shops is inspired by Walker’s own research after the company discovered a whopping 98% of adults strongly believe that crisps make their sandwiches better.
Philippa Pennington at Walkers said: “Last year the residents of Sandwich voted “Crisp In” as the winning combination, but this year we’re widening the debate to showcase the wide range of crisp and sandwich combinations – from classic Walkers crisps through to Wotsits and Monster Munch.
“With Walkers Sandwich Shops located across the UK, we’re calling on people to head to their nearest shop, taste the sandwiches and have their say online by sharing their favourite combination from the menu, or favourite crisps to enjoy in a sandwich.”
The Manc -
15th September 2021 
