According to the Mail on Sunday, his UK citizenship has now been revoked by the government – a move
that is said to have sparked a diplomatic row between Britain and Canada.
The Home Office said it did not comment on individual cases but a spokesperson said decisions on
depriving a dual national of citizenship were based on “substantial advice from officials, lawyers and the
intelligence agencies and all available information”.
They added: “This power is one way we can counter the terrorist threat posed by some of the most
dangerous individuals and keep our country safe.”
It comes after Shamima Begum – one of three girls from east London who left the UK to join Isis in 2015 –
was stripped of her UK citizenship by the Home Office earlier this year.
Critics said the move set a “very dangerous precedent”, saying the UK should “take responsibility” for its
citizens and try them for crimes in British courts. Under international law, a person can only be stripped of
their citizenship by a government if it does not leave them stateless.
Mr Letts’ parents were recently convicted of sending him money while he was in Syria, despite repeated
warnings that their son had joined Isis. In June, John Letts and Sally Lane, who denied funding terrorism,
were handed a 15-month prison term suspended for a year due to the “special circumstances of the case”,
meaning they would not be jailed unless they commit further offences in that time.