British citizenship should never be conditional | Letters
Debates over Alaa Abd el-Fattah and others such as Shamima Begum feed hard-right myths about Britishness, writes Nick Moss. Plus, letters by Sally March and Dr Richard CarterGood as it...
By Guardian Staff · The Guardian Opinion
Debates over Alaa Abd el-Fattah and others such as Shamima Begum feed hard-right myths about Britishness, writes Nick Moss . Plus, letters by Sally March and Dr Richard Carter Good as it is to know that the Home Office does not intend to take any action to remove Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s citizenship over “abhorrent” past social media posts, the fact that, in limited circumstances, it is an option ought to cause us real concern ( Alaa Abd el-Fattah ‘will not be stripped of British citizenship’ over past tweets, 30 December ). The recent Institute for Public Policy Research report that 36% of people now think you must be born British to be truly British ( Report, 29 December ) cannot be separated from the conduct of debates like those around Abd el-Fattah. If, for those who are not white and born in the UK, citizenship is a gift of the state that can be withdrawn, then it’s not citizenship at all but a form of limited leave like any other. Continue reading...