The chief task of the home secretary is to keep the public safe. Sajid Javid has decided to answer the call of duty by stripping a former supporter of the Islamic State terrorist group, Shamima Begum, of her British citizenship.
The action, however, does the minister no credit: it marks out Britain as a country that would prefer to condemn a woman to limbo than face uncomfortable truths about the creeping radicalisation of its youth. British jihadists are a British problem; failing to acknowledge this reality does not make the country more secure.
When she was interviewed by The Times in a transit camp last week Ms Begum expressed a wish to return to her family in London. She had been part of a group