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I think this "stripping of citizenship" applies only to people with dual nationality. I might be wrong, but that was my interpretation. Nevertheless, it's still a diabolical law. In effect it says that if you have dual nationality then the British component of it is not worth the same as that of someone who has solely British nationality.
Only our current depraved government could come up with something like this. As mentioned, it equates well to what the Nazis did.
The Explanatory Notes, as is so often the case with Home Office Bills, do not provide any reason or justification of any pressing need to change the existing law.
At first glance, if you only hold British Citizenship and depriving you of it would make you stateless, would seem to be a safeguard covering most people born in the UK.
However, there are many foreign countries which automatically give the children of their nationals the right of citizenship, even if they have never actually applied for it e.g. Japan or perhaps the Republic of Ireland.
It is not impossible to imagine a future Home Office jobsworth revoking someone's British Citizenship because they know or assume that a person can easily claim Citizenship from a foreign country , even if they do not currently hold two passports.
As you say, this clause creates an arbitrary "second class" of British Citizenship, without a word of public consultation or justification by the Government.
The impression given by Charles Clarke's Ministerial Statement on Counter-Terrorism last Thursday, is that all British citizens are at risk of having their British Citizenship stripped from them at the whim of the Home Secretary, without the need for any actual conviction for very serious wrongdoing:
I don’t think this law bad at all because indigenous people with Middle Eastern backgrounds have to wake up and realize that if they want to be British Citizens then they have a responsibility to be loyal to their country. When they came in the UK, they met other values and it is their responsibility to respect the British values. If they want to bring the Islamic fanatism and being tied up by their religion then they can leave. In UK there is a freedom of religion, but some people don’t seem to get, and some want to abuse that freedom. The United Kingdom has Western values, not Middle Eastern Values. I’m not saying that they have to assimilate in the British society, but they have a responsibility to adapt in the British society. In France this law has also been approved I don’t see anything wrong with it. There has been terrorism in England this year and I honestly think that those from the Muslim community have a responsibility to guide their youth. Those who have sympathy with terrorists around the world must lose their British citizenship. They chose to come in Britain and they have to respect the British and European values, also those who are in France. I think Australia, Germany, Holland, Austria, Italy and United States should do the same thing. The law is fair. I’m not a British, but I can understand.
Balthazar N.Balenda
Native country: France
Country of origin: Republic of the Congo
Student at the University of Southern Denmark
People need to deal with some facts here, and it’s not me who found the word Islam. Britain has other values and if they don’t want to respect it than I’m sorry then they don’t like Britain at all. I agree with Tony Blair’s law it’s just and it’s fair. I have nothing against Muslims or people with Middle Eastern Backgrounds, but the society is not going to do it for them, they are the one to start taking initiatives.
Balthazar N.Balenda
Native country: France
Country of origin: Republic of the Congo
Student at the University of Southern Denmark
@ Balthazar - so why should the criterion for revoking someone's British Citizenship be reduced from "has done anything seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the United Kingdom"
e.g. being convicted of treason or espionage
to the far more general criterion of
“(2) The Secretary of State may by order deprive a person of a citizenship status if the Secretary of State is satisfied that deprivation is conducive to the public good.” ?
Why should this sort of decision be within the power of a politician like the Home Secretary, and not be made be made by through a proper Judicial proceess, after the hearing of actual eveidence against someone in a Court ?
This law does not apply to just Islamic immigrants, it also applies to say, Irish people with British and Irish parentage as well.
It also applies to anyone who have been born in the United Kingdom.
An open letter to the Right Hon. Charles Clarke, MP, (UK Home secretary).
Dear Mr. Clarke,
I am writing to you in connection with what is to my mind the vexed question of British nationality, and the current sorry state of the UK's terrorism legislation.
I was involved in the protests against the G8 in Gleneagles, Scotland in the summer of 2005. I supported the disruption of the meeting as I felt that the decisions that were being made were decisions that not only should be subject to democratic scrutiny, but also they were too important to be made soley by the powerful and wealthy.
This kind of thinking was exactly what led to the barons forced King John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. It is still a cornerpiece of this country's political system.
Nevertheless, I was arrested because I was by the side of a motorway dancing. I was charged with Breach of the Peace under Scottish law, but this was later thrown out of court.
However, I am writing to you as I now realise my crime was far more serious than either the police or I had first thought.
Under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2000, terrorism is defined as "the use or threat of action where ....... the use or threat is made for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause."
The action of dancing by a motorway, in my view, makes me a terrorist without question. I therefore strongly urge you to take steps to secure my re-arrest on this charge forthwith.
However, it gets worse.
My father was an immigrant. He came to this country from Hungary during the Cold War. As a terrorist, it is abundantly clear that under the 1981 British Nationality Act, I have done something "seriously detrimental to the vital interests of the United Kingdom."
You would be entirely within the remit of your powers granted to you under this legislation to deport me immediately. It would, however, also be your decision as to where I would go. I was born in Glasgow to a Scottish mum, I was brought up in England and I have been living in Cardiff for four years. In fact, if I stay another year here I will technically be Welsh.
Your call.
I would also point out that if I was deported to Hungary, under UK legislation I would be able to also legally able to come back and work here. You never know, I may even nip round to sort out the plumbing in your constituency residence.
I look forward to your swift resolution of this matter. Particularly as my pseudo "career" in the music business is not going too well, and I could do with the publicity.
Yours sincerely,
Sandor Dus
"Cosmo"
aka citizensmith www.freedomfortooting.blogspot.com
>>I don’t think this law bad at all because indigenous people with Middle Eastern backgrounds have to wake up
Why does everything have to be morphed into a racial one? I do have a problem with a Home Secretary deciding to revoke my citizenship without any good cause. Hey, for all we know it could be a way of reducing the population: Give everyone who has a dual nationality 30 days to leave the country...
Start with those over 60 as it reduces the pension bill. Then withdraw passports from anyone who's unemployed, disabled, or otherwise claiming benefits. In due course the PSBR will come down and budgets will balance.
OK, extreme scenario, but a slippery slope nonetheless.
i`m from Egypt born in saudia arabia to an egyptian father after ten yrs he divorsed my mother so i lived in Egypt then he took the british citizenship and also my 5 brothers , do i have the right to have the british citizenship. thank u
Conducive to the public good does not necessarily refer to terrorists or their supporters. It would in fact be more commonly used in cases of serious criminal conduct such as in the cases of N Kenya or Allen Samaroo. The former was a rapist who kidnapped his victim and raped her over a number of days and the latter was a drug smuggler. The criterior for coducive deportation has been laid down over a number of years in a variety of test cases.
Those cases have established some basic principles that have to be observed and an established set of principles which must be met in order for the Secretary of State to establish that a deportation was the correct decision.
Of course there are people who beleive that drug smugglers and rapists should not be deported, but the Secretary of State for the Home Department is an elected representative of the people with a duty to protect citizens of the UK.
If a naturalised British Citizen commits a very serious offence it is in my opinion only right that under the current conducive deportation criterior they could be stripped of their citizenship and returned to their own country.
We have enough problems dealing with our own borne and bred citizens who resort to criminal activities, why should we be required to adopt criminals from other countries.
With regards to the aspect of depriving a British citizen of their citizenship on unproven assertions that they are a security risk this would I think be going to far. There should be a proven offence behind the stripping of naturalised citizenship or we are indeed in danger of becoming too much like a Nazi dictatorship.
@ Joe Blogs -
"There should be a proven offence behind the stripping of naturalised citizenship or we are indeed in danger of becoming too much like a Nazi dictatorship."
That is exactly not what this power is about.
The Home Secretary may well be alerted to a serious case via a conviction in a Court, but he currently has the power to act on the without anybody having had any convictions proven against them in a British or even a foreign court, subject to
This Bill is proposing to broaden the scope of this test to the far weaker, and still entirely subjective
Deportation or even extradition does not necessarily come in to it at all, since the Home Secretary might revoke your British Citizenship whilst you are abroad, where you could not appeal against his decision in a British Court.
It seems that this could seriously curtail the range of acceptable political participation of a dual citizen--conceivably, being an active supporter of UKIP or even a foreign party like Groep Wilders could arouse some suspicions...
@ Mike - there are a lot of people in Northern Ireland who would be under threat from this change in the law.
The Third Reading of this Bill in the House of Lords was scheduled for today Tuesday 14th March 2006.
We will check Hansard tomorrow
to see if the Opposition Amendment which retains the still dubious status quo is accepted or not:
The Immigration "scandal" is an excuse to repeal all of our human rights and lumber us with Compulsory ID cards.
And on the other edge of their sword is the fact that each immigrant is worth about £1,000 in good old council tax p.a. Add to this the fact that the country and the councils are run by solicitors, barristers and judges (T.Blair, C Blair all the way down) and you acquire an appreciation that it is the council tax which feeds the monster. Council tax is otherwise known as "the public purse" and this purse must be constantly filled as it is being emptied at an ever increasing rate by these lawmakers to the point where "There isnt enough money for the hospitals" is the standard "whine from the same political prostitutes who made sure they kept the courts on a revolving door system of spurious cases both by them and against them in order that they can attach the council tax revenues directly to their bank accounts.
Did you know that?
Check it out for yourself and see.
@ matey -
Surely there is a lot more burden of tax on the public than just the council tax ?
it doesn't just refer to people with 'dual nationality' - it applies to everyone!
@ sonia - it does, but the principle that the UK Government is not allowed to make someone stateless also applies, something which was spelled out in the Explanatory Notes to the Bill.
Can a British person be deported from one of the British Overseas Territories?
@ David - of course they can.
Which countries and alleged offences are you particularly interested in ?
My British citizenship application has been refused for more than 15years now by the British High Commission in Ghana.
The reason according to them is because my father was a foreign diplomat in the UK at the time of my birth in the UK on the 13th May 1968.
The question is that I know perfectly well that under subsection 1b of the British Nationality(No.2)Act 1964, I am entitled to British Citizenship by birth and registration in London.
Please I need your intervention in this matter.
Thank you in advance.
Yours Sincerely,
David Yankyerah.
My letter for your assistance appears above.
@ David - what makes you think that we have any influence with the UK Home Office or the Foreign & Commonwealth Office ?