Woman returning from holiday detained at airport ‘for having similar name to Shamima Begum’

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Ms Begum says a border force staff said her name seemed to be the problem, in that it was similar to “someone of interest”. It’s taken me six months to talk about it properly.” She added: “If it isn’t down to my race and religion, why aren’t police stopping every white person who walks through the airport? I, therefore, believe that the stop was entirely arbitrary and as a result of religious and cultural ignorance and the overzealous attitudes of the officers.” GMP declined to confirm the exact reason for the stop when approached by The Independent, saying it related to her “biodata” which can mean anything from a person’s name to their address. “There’s so little recourse to justice with this power, that we have demanded its repeal entirely.” Begum is a common name in the Bangladeshi diaspora and the single most common surname in the Tower Hamlets and south Camden areas in London.