The government will reject any attempt by a member of the ISIS “Beatles” terror cell to be transferred from a Colorado prison to a high security jail in the UK, Sky News understands.
El Shafee Elsheikh, known as “Jihadi Ringo”, grew up in west London before he left the UK for Syria in 2012 to fight for the Islamic State (ISIS).
The former mechanic and three other men, who all grew up in the UK, were members of a terror cell that was nicknamed “The Beatles” because of their British accents.
Elsheikh has been serving eight life sentences in a US jail for his involvement in a hostage-taking scheme which involved torturing, beating and executing prisoners.
However three years after he was jailed, the daughter of British aid worker David Haines – who was murdered by the ISIS cell in 2014 – has told The Sun she has received a notice saying Elsheikh has applied to be transferred to a UK jail.
Bethany Haines told the newspaper: “I beg the UK government to act to make sure he never sets foot on these shores again.”
The notice, seen by the paper, refers to Elsheikh as a UK national but the Home Office has confirmed to Sky News that he was stripped of his British citizenship following his arrest by Kurdish-led Syrian Defence Forces in 2018.
Ministry of Justice guidance says non-British nationals, such as Elsheikh, must hold valid leave to enter and remain in the UK in order to be considered for transfer.
The Ministry of Justice said in a statement: “Our sympathies remain with the friends and families of the victims of these appalling crimes.
“We have not received any application for Mr Elsheikh’s transfer from the US authorities but we have the right to refuse any request and prisoners who are transferred to the UK will serve the rest of their sentence here.”
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The former ISIS fighters are believed to be responsible for beheading more than 27 hostages.
This includes Mr Haines and fellow British aid worker Alan Henning as well as American aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig.
The cell also caused outrage around the world after releasing videos of the executions of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.
Footage of Mr Haines’s murder was also posted online and his remains have never been discovered.
Elsheikh, who moved to the UK from Sudan aged five, was handed eight concurrent life sentences by a US court in 2022, alongside fellow cell member Alexanda Kotey.
A third “Beatles” member, Mohammed Emwazi, who was dubbed “Jihadi John”, was killed in a drone strike in 2015.
Meanwhile Muslim-convert Aine Davis, who was suspected of also being part of the terror cell, was jailed for eight years in 2023.
