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”.
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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.”
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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.
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“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.
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“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
Elbow get behind campaign to save Jodrell Bank from closure
Danny Jones
Manc band Elbow are among the latest to get behind the campaign to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from closing permanently.
The Greater Manchester natives famously played a sold-out gig at the important scientific and cultural landmark for a very special live album recording well over a decade ago, and know all too well the site’s national and, indeed, global heritage.
Choosing the Observatory and the rare chance to perform a show in the shadow of the world-renowned James Lovell Telescope, it probably remains one of their most significant standalone UK date ever.
With that in mind, the local lads have been left just as worried by the news of its impending closure as everyone else, and have therefore issued a fresh appeal to help keep it open.
Posting a timely statement on social media, the group wrote: “Jodrell Bank has long been close to elbow’s heart. In 2012, the band played beneath the Lovell Telescope for one of the most memorable shows in our history.
“The recent news that funding for the e-MERLIN radio telescope network is set to end in 2028 puts the future of the scientific work at Jodrell Bank under serious threat. It is a remarkable place, with an extraordinary history, and one that continues to play an important role in science, culture and education.”
In addition to reliving clips and images from the historic live set all the years later, they also pointed people towards their ‘elbow – Live at Jodrell Bank‘ album documentary, which has now been made available online for the very first time as part of wider efforts to raise awareness around the cause.
Directing people to key online resources shared by the institution and astrophysics centre itself following their unfortunate update late last month, the push to not only find the funding but sustain support for the facility continues to ramp up throughout the world of science, arts and industry.
For anyone who somehow missed the news – 2028 being the current deadline handed down as per budget cuts across the sector – concerned parties here in the North West and all over the country have since started petitioning to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from shutting down for good.
In addition to being described as a “huge blow” to the field by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), some have even gone so far as to describe the decision as a form of “vandalism” when it comes to research and British culture as a whole.
Having also served as the host venue for the annual bluedot Festival since 2016, the multi-genre science and arts celebration could soon be forced to find a new home.
The battle is far from over yet, and the community has time to rescue Jodrell Bank Observatory from its fate, but it will take lots of money and more notable public figures to make it happen.
Once again, you can do your bit by signing the petition mentioned above right HERE.
Featured Images — Emma Farrer (via Wikimedia Commons)/The Manc Group
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A rare piglet born at Chester Zoo could help save an entire species from extinction
Danny Jones
A very cute and rare new arrival at Chester Zoo could potentially save the animal’s future, and she might just be one of the cutest little piglets we’ve ever seen.
Say hello to Rana.
A tiny ‘babirusa’ – also sometimes referred to as the ‘pig-deer’ – Rana is an indigenous species found on just four small Indonesian islands, and one which is sadly on the verge of extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Part of the threat to the population is due to African Swine Fever (not to be confused with swine flu), which reached these islands around half a decade ago and could see these precious little pigs considered ‘critically endangered’ very soon. But Chester Zoo are working hard to prevent this outcome.
Born this summer, Rana is the baby of mother babirusa Matano, who was herself born at Chester Zoo over a decade ago.
Fast forward 11 years, and she has descendants living in zoos all across Europe, as well as a whole new generation of children here in the UK.
However, she is the first one born in some time, with this particular phylum only ever birthing one or two kids at a time as opposed to a litter like most other pigs.
Described as being like grapefruit “only with legs”, she may be small for now, but she’s growing fast and carries the weight of big hopes and expectations for the rest of her kind.
Chester Zoo conservationists are currently working with partners to protect wild babirusa populations through Action Indonesia‘s Global Species Management Plans.
Helping design camera-trapping projects to monitor babirusas on Sulawesi, and working with other organisations to locate and protect surviving numbers, the aim is to share conservation breeding expertise, with results so far having bred at least 17 babirusas towards national cooperative targets.
For context, only on two occasions were babirusas photographed in the wild during the entirety of 2023-24, hence why efforts have been ramped up even further over the past year or so.
Amy Humphreys, a conservationist at the zoo who is working with Action Indonesia, the country’s government and other groups to combat their decline and rescue this species, says we are in “a race against time” to save these omnivorous, ‘charismatic’ and intelligent pigs.
She goes on to add that “babirusas are important to island ecosystems as they drop seeds as they forage, helping forest regeneration, and they are a key indicator species for overall environmental health, but their situation is bleak.
“We risk losing a truly unique species, one that’s an important part of Indonesia’s cultural and natural heritage and one of the oldest pig species still living […] Rana’s arrival is worth celebrating; her birth is a chance to shine a light on babirusas and show people why they deserve protection.”
It’s uplifting and inspiring stories like this that constantly remind us why we’re fortunate we are to have the award-winning zoo and conservation centre in our region; and if you were wondering whether we’ll be booking a trip soon just in hopes of seeing little Rana running around, you’d be absolutely right.
The Manc -
15th September 2021 
