Kiranga,
The UK is considering taking a step further whereby UK nationals suspected of being involved in terror acts would be allowed to keep their British citizenship, but they would be prevented from re-entering the UK for a period of time.
On this Clive Coleman, BBC Legal Affairs Correspondent says:
There is a real and important difference between removing a person's citizenship and removing their passport.
If a British citizen who holds sole British nationality - i.e does not have dual citizenship - has his or her British citizenship removed, that would render the person stateless, and that is contrary to both international and domestic law. Under current law, the home secretary is prevented from removing citizenship if to do so would render a citizen stateless.
So, in practice, the power can only be used against those with dual citizenship. The government wants to change the law. This could mean that citizenship can be removed from those with sole British nationality. However, we will have to wait and see precisely what the government announces in its package of measures today.
If a person with sole British nationality is or has been acting in a way that is "not conducive to the public good", for instance by involving themselves in terrorism, then they can have their passport removed. That can be a temporary measure and does not remove their citizenship.
Source:
BBC News - David Cameron outlines new anti-terror measures to MPs
David Anderson QC said there were "legal difficulties" with the proposals announced by David Cameron. He said there were also "practical problems", saying the UK could end up in a "game of pass the parcel" with other countries' suspected terrorists. Mr Anderson, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, ... think there are legal difficulties with it.
"The whole concept of citizenship is about the right of abode - the right to come back to where you live. If you're going to suspend that - even on a temporary basis - I think you run into some legal difficulties. But it seems to me there are also practical problems that would have to be addressed on this."
"Where is the power to be exercised? Is it when the person is in Turkey, say on his way back from Syria? Is there some way of stopping him from coming back? And if so, where does the person go? Do they go back to Syria for a bit more jihad? Do they go and find a beach somewhere in Turkey?
"And, of course, if we start doing this then presumably we must accept the consequences that other people might do it as well. The trouble with this game of pass the parcel - whether it comes to terrorists or other criminals - is that if other people's terrorists or criminals find their way to Great Britain, they too could say 'Well we wash our hands of these people, we're not going to let them back - they're your problem'."
Source:
BBC News - Anti-terror plans: 'Difficulties' with Cameron's plans
