Boris Johnson is dragged into row over the 'Beatles' jihadis as it emerges he wrote the guidance justifying them being tried in the US despite death penalty threat

  • Alexanda Kotey and Shafee El-Sheikh are set to be tried in US for ISIS atrocities
  • 'Beatles' ringleader Mohammed Emwazi was killed in an airstrike in 2015 in Syria 
  • Sajid Javid said Britain will not need 'assurances' pair will avoid the death penalty
  • Theresa May said to have pushed for prosecution in US despite death penalty 
  • Ministers confirm that Kotey and El-Sheikh have been stripped of citizenship

Boris Johnson was dragged into the row over the fate of the 'Beatles' jihadis today after it emerged he wrote the guidance suggesting they could be tried in America despite the threat of the death penalty.

The former foreign secretary published human rights rules last year that said it was not obligatory for the UK to get guarantees citizens would not be executed in every case.

Today's report comes after it was claimed Mr Johnson had raised objections about Alexanda Kotey and Shafee El-Sheik, who were stripped of their British citizenship, being handed over to US custody.

Theresa May has defended a decision to hand over the infamous pair to the US courts, responsible for a string of executions in Syria, on the grounds it is better than them being held in Guantanomo Bay.

Boris Johnson was dragged into the row over the fate of the 'Beatles' jihadis after it emerged he wrote the guidance suggesting they could be tried in America despite the threat of the death penalty

Boris Johnson was dragged into the row over the fate of the 'Beatles' jihadis after it emerged he wrote the guidance suggesting they could be tried in America despite the threat of the death penalty

Theresa May (pictured at Downing Street with the emir of Qatar today) is said to have pushed for the ISIS 'Beatles' to be prosecuted in the US despite the threat of the death penalty

Theresa May (pictured at Downing Street with the emir of Qatar today) is said to have pushed for the ISIS 'Beatles' to be prosecuted in the US despite the threat of the death penalty

Alexandar Kotey will be tried in US courts for his role in ISIS related activities.
Shafee El-Sheikh will be tried in US courts for his role in ISIS related activities.

Alexanda Kotey (pictured left) and Shafee El-Sheikh (pictured right) will be tried in US courts for their role in ISIS related activities

The Telegraph said yesterday Mr Johnson had warned against the move before his resignation.

But a source told The Times: 'Not only did Boris sign off the decision to make use of the guidance in this case — he actually produced the guidance.' 

Britain has backed sending the duo to the United States because the evidence against them was believed to be too weak to bring a prosecution in the UK - and could have potentially put security sources at risk.

If Britain had not supplied intelligence they could have ended up in the detention camp on Cuba, which the government has been urging Donald Trump to close. 

Home Secretary Sajid Javid faced a furious backlash yesterday as he was accused of unilaterally scrapping Britain’s long-standing opposition to the death penalty.

Critics said he had secretly abandoned the policy of only passing on intelligence for prosecutions where there is no threat of capital punishment.

Downing Street initially gave only lukewarm backing to the move yesterday morning, before saying the PM was fully behind it. But The Times claimed that the Prime Minister was deeply involved in making the decisions. 

Home Secretary Sajid Javid (pictured) faced a major backlash after making clear Britain will not block the death penalty for the ISIS 'Beatles'

Home Secretary Sajid Javid (pictured) faced a major backlash after making clear Britain will not block the death penalty for the ISIS 'Beatles'

Kotey, 34, and Elsheikh, 29, were henchmen of Mohammed Emwazi – known as Jihadi John – who beheaded Western hostages, including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, on camera.

Nicknamed The Beatles because of their British accents, the four, all from West London, were behind the murder of 27 hostages, including US journalist James Foley. Emwazi, 27, was killed in a drone strike three years ago. Fourth member Aine Davis, 33, was jailed for seven and a half years in Turkey last year on terrorism charges. 

Kotey and Elsheikh were captured in January as they attempted to flee Syria, and are being held by the US-backed Syrian Defence Force. 

The two, originally dual nationals, had already had their UK citizenship stripped by the Home Office.

The US wants to extradite them but needs evidence held by the British authorities to prosecute them for kidnap and murder.

For years, Britain has sought assurances from foreign governments that the death penalty would not be used in cases where the UK either provided intelligence or extradited suspects for trial.

But a leaked letter revealed yesterday that Mr Javid had made clear Britain was ready to share secret intelligence so the IS pair could be hauled before the US courts – with no such guarantees. 

Other leaked documents reportedly suggest that British officials indicated that any future decision to send the pair to the US torture camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, would not be opposed. 

Lord Carlile, a former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said: ‘It has been the established policy for a very long time and this... exercise of discretion in relation to two people, however little we may like them, seems to me to be a departure from the rule of law. This is a disgraceful episode. I would be very interested to see the legal advice he was given. In my view, he should resign.’

Former Tory Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell said the Government appeared to have breached conventions it had signed up to.

‘This suggestion may well be in breach of British law,’ he said. ‘Human rights don’t only apply to ordinary citizens, they apply to some very bad people indeed. Once we get off that high principle, then we are heading down an extremely dangerous track.’ Other critics said Mr Javid’s decision could face a challenge in the courts.

Taliban prisoners in orange jumpsuits at Guantanamo Bay. The UK government has not formally opposed the ISIS pair being sent to the American detention centre

Taliban prisoners in orange jumpsuits at Guantanamo Bay. The UK government has not formally opposed the ISIS pair being sent to the American detention centre

Isis beheading victim Alan Henning was kidnapped on Boxing Day 2013. The taxi driver from Manchester was captured before being beheaded by Jihadi John in October 2014

Isis beheading victim Alan Henning was kidnapped on Boxing Day 2013. The taxi driver from Manchester was captured before being beheaded by Jihadi John in October 2014

Diane Foley, the mother of one of the IS gang’s victims, said executing Kotey and Elsheikh would make them ‘martyrs in their twisted ideology’ and they should instead face life in jail. 

Mr Javid’s letter to US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, dated June 22, said: ‘I am of the view that there are strong reasons for not requiring a death penalty assurance in this specific case, so no such assurances will be sought.

'As you are aware, it is the long held position of the UK to seek death penalty assurances, and our decision in this case does not reflect a change in our policy.’ 

Mr Javid suggested the US was better placed to handle ‘foreign fighter’ cases because of the risk of legal challenges in the UK under human rights laws. 

The PM's spokesman said: The ultimate aim for all of us is to make sure these men face the rest of their lives in prison. 

'That is also what the victims’ families want. In this instance after careful and considered advice the Government took the decision not to seek assurances, that was deemed by ministers to be appropriate.

‘The Prime Minister was aware of these plans and supports the way these are being handled.’

Security minister Ben Wallace told MPs yesterday that Kotey, a half-Ghanaian, half-Greek Cypriot nicknamed Ringo, and Elsheikh, who fled Sudan with his family aged five and was known as George, had been deprived of UK citizenship.

 

 'Angry, unpredictable and always on edge' ISIS Beatles reminisce about growing up in 'cosmopolitan' London as they call themselves 'family men, not heartless monsters' 

The two men dubbed the ISIS Beatles, Alexanda Kotey, 34, and El Shafee Elsheik, 30, have painted themselves as father figures as they are set to be tried in the US for terrorist atrocities.

Both described themselves to the Times as 'family men', as Kotey has two daughters and Elsheik has four children.

And Kotey was fond of his life in west London, reminiscing about the area he described as being 'the most cosmopolitan and integrated in London'.  

But a former captive of the men painted menacing pictures of the ISIS Beatles, especially of Elsheikh.

Alexanda Amon Kotey, left, and El Shafee Elsheikh, right

Alexanda Amon Kotey, left, and El Shafee Elsheikh, right

A French hostage, who did not want to be named, told the paper that Elsheikh was 'violent, angry, unpredictable and always on edge.

He added the accused terrorist was 'really nasty. He loved violence and did much of the torture. He was the one who really had it in for James Foley and gave him such a hard time.'

The captive remarked Kotey could be violent as well, but was 'intelligent, articulate, persuasive' and could be 'funny'.  

Kotey admitted he became 'desensitised' after living in Syria for six years, casually recounting having breakfast at a falafel stand in Raqqa where a headless body and a severed head lay on the ground .

He added: 'That’s not to say I have become a heartless monster. It’s just to say that something someone saw in the UK that they thought was unbearable and would give them nightmares, well, I could probably see and continue my day.'

Speaking about their fate, Elsheikh was outraged over the 'hypocrisy' of the UK and issued a chilling warning to British citizens.

Speaking of the legal precedent the government was setting in their case, he speculated the same thing could happen to a British citizen down the line.

Elsheikh said: 'Today I am the stone falling in the pool. And your kid is going to eat the wave.' 

'John': Man Utd fan who turned into the most reviled man in the world

Kuwaiti born Mohammed Emwazi, became the most reviled man in the world as ISIS's most notorious executioner Jihadi John.

However, reports suggest he appeared to embrace British life after moving to the country as a six-year-old in 1993.

Neighbours remember a polite, quiet boy who supported Manchester United, wore 'Western clothing' and played football on the affluent streets of west London.

He became more religious after moving to Quintin Kynaston Community Academy, a secondary school in St John's Wood, in 1999.

But it was only after he won a place studying computing at the University of Westminster that his behaviour began to change.

The university has since been linked with several proponents of radical Islam - and Emwazi appeared to have fallen under their sway.

He began attending different mosques and was known to associate with Bilal el-Berjawi, who was killed by a drone strike in Somalia four years ago. 

Emwazi, Alexanda Kotey and Aine Davis all attended the al-Manaar mosque in Labroke Grove, where Kotey emerged as the ring leader. 

The knife-wielding killer - dubbed 'Jihadi John' - beheaded hostages, including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, on camera.

Emwazi is also believed to have killed the American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as Abdul-Rahman Kassig, an aid worker. 

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'Ringo': A 'polite' west London boy who fought for ISIS

Alexanda Kotey, said to be a fan of Queens Park Rangers, was also described by neighbours as a 'polite' boy

Alexanda Kotey, said to be a fan of Queens Park Rangers, was once described by neighbours as a 'polite' boy.

But after he left the UK to join ISIS in Syria, he used social media to continue radicalising young men, an old friend told ITV.

They added: 'The way he secretly operated he was a roadman, a gangster. 

'He had the skills of influencing people he could see as influential or vulnerable so they could bring their friends in.

'They would have used the same tactics as gangs to recruit people. Like grooming, he gave them a sense of belonging. 

'They couldn't get job or uni course they wanted.

'Through remote network and services, he would have people he delegated responsibility to. They could have helped and advise them on how to get to Syria.'

Father-of-two Kotey, who is half Ghanaian, half Greek Cypriot, is believed to have been one of ISIS' key recruiters and helped them radicalise young men from London.

He used to be a member of the Greek Orthodox Church but is said to have converted to Islam in his teens.  

He attended the al-Manaar mosque in Ladbroke Grove, west London, with Emwazi and Davis, it was reported.

A local community worker said the trio were 'physically ejected' from the mosque because of their extremist views.

They said 'He would definitely be standing there with, I'd say a dozen boys all listening to him. He was the speaker. He was the spokesman in that little group. 

'It was Alex most definitely who was the lynchpin. The mosque did so much to keep these people at the fringes.'

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'George': Former mechanic who beheaded 27 hostages

The fourth and final member of the infamous ISIS execution squad with Jihadi John El Shafee Elsheikh (pictured, as a teen)

The fourth and final member of the infamous ISIS execution squad with Jihadi John El Shafee Elsheikh (pictured, as a teen)

The third member of the infamous ISIS execution squad with Jihadi John El Shafee Elsheikh.

Described as a 'kind and softly spoken' former fairground mechanic, from west London, he turned into a ISIS extremist who was part of the gang that beheaded 27 hostages and tortured many more in Syria.  

Elsheikh grew up in White City, just a few miles other members of the cell, and his mother said he was radicalised at local mosques within weeks of hearing sermons by infamous hate preacher Hani al-Sibai. 

He later travelled to Syria in 2012 to fight his holy war, and his younger brother Mahmoud followed him - and was killed fighting in Iraq last year.

Elsheikh's identity was confirmed by a former US counter-terrorism official and investigators working to find The Beatles.

The terrorist, who lived in Syria with two wives and two young children, has been captured after being hunted by security services on both sides of the Atlantic.

His mother, Maha Elgizouli, revealed how the family moved to White City in west London when Elsheikh was just five years old, along with his two brothers.

Both of his parents had fled the civil war in Sudan in the 1990s - where they were both members of the Communist Party - but the father, a poet, left the family when Elsheikh was just seven years old.

They grew up a few miles from the first of the infamous Beatles group to be exposed, Mohammed Emwazi - who later became known as Jihadi John but was killed in a drone strike in 2015.

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'Paul': A west London gangster and gun runner turned ISIS guard 

The fourth so called 'Beatle', Aine Davis, originally from Hammersmith, travelled to Syria to become an ISIS guard.

Prior to fleeing the UK, Davis was convicted six times for possessing cannabis and was also heavily involved in gang circles, where he was known as 'Biggz.'

The gangster worked as a gun runner, selling handguns before the weapons factory he worked for was busted by police. 

Davis is thought to have converted to Islam shortly after being jailed in the UK in 2006 for possessing a firearm. 

The son of a dinner lady and a John Lewis shopworker, he took the name Hamza and travelled the Middle East.    

He met his wife Amal el-Wahabi at Westbourne Park mosque in 2006 and despite the disapproval of her parents, they developed a close relationship.

Davis' new found interest in religion led him to persuade his girlfriend that they should move to Yemen.

He was detained by police in Turkey last year on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack. 

His wife, Amal El-Wahabi, was jailed in 2014 for funding terrorism. 

When police raided his wife's home, Davis's iPod revealed he used to listen to lectures by radical American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. 

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American journalist who kept up fellow prisoners' morale 

James Foley, from Illinois, USA, was a journalist who first went missing in November 2012

James Foley, from Illinois, USA, was a journalist who first went missing in November 2012

James Foley, from Illinois, in the US, was a journalist who first went missing in November 2012.

On his way to an internet cafe,  while reporting for the GlobalPost, he had been taken hostage at gunpoint by militants from the group Jabhat al Nusra in Taftanaz, northern Syria.

Jabhat al Nusra subsequently joined forces with ISIS - which did not exist in anything like its current form when Mr Foley was taken.

Mr Foley joined other prisoners, who were European and British, in the ISIS prison and despite attempts to rescue him, he was eventually murdered by his captors.

His fellow prisoners spoke kindly of Foley, who called people 'Bro' and never argued over shortages of food, despite meagre rations equating to cup of food-a-day, often sharing his portion and his blanket. 

Mr Foley often made efforts to maintain prisoners' morale, persuading them to play games and to give talks on their favourite subjects.

He even organised a 'Secret Santa' during Christmas 2013, encouraging hostages to make gifts out of whatever they could find. 

ISIS posted his execution video, titled 'A Message to America' to social media as proof of his death.

In scripted remarks before his killing, kneeling in an orange jump suit, he said: 'I wish I could have the hope of freedom and seeing my family once again. 

'But that ship has sailed. I guess all in all I wish I wasn't American.' 

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'The guy lit up a room': US freelance journalist who was an avid rugby player

Steven Sotloff, 31, from Miami, who freelanced for Time and Foreign Policy magazines, vanished in Syria in 2013

Steven Sotloff, 31, from Miami, who freelanced for Time and Foreign Policy magazines, vanished in Syria in 2013

US journalist Steven Sotloff, 31, vanished in Syria in August 2013.

Mr Sotloff was not seen again until he appeared in a video released online by ISIS on August 2014, that showed James Foley's beheading.

In a second clip, published weeks later, entitled 'A Second Message to America,' Mr Sotloff appeared in a orange jumpsuit before he is beheaded by an Islamic State fighter.

The grandson of Holocaust survivors, Mr Sotloff grew up Miami, before attending the Kimball Union Academy boarding school in New Hampshire before studying at the University of Central Florida. 

While at Kimball, Mr Sotloff was an avid rugby player and on moving to UFC began working for the student newspaper there, the Central Florida Future.

He left this paper in 2005 and began to pursue his dreams of journalism full time.

'The guy lit up a room. He was always such a loyal, caring and good friend to us,' former roommate Josh Polsky told the New York Times. 

'If you needed to rely on anybody for anything he would drop everything on a dime for you or for anyone else.'

Sotloff travelled to the Middle East as a freelance journalist and wrote reports from Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Turkey and Syria.

He often had pieces in Time and Foreign Policy magazines.

'A million people could have told him what he was doing was foolish, as it seemed to us outsiders looking in, but to him it was what he loved to do and you weren't going to stop him,' his friend, Emerson Lotzia, said.

'Steve said it was scary over there. It was dangerous. It wasn't safe to be over there. He knew it. He kept going back.' 

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British taxi driver who volunteered as an aid worker 

Alan Henning, a father-of-two, was kidnapped on Boxing Day 2013 as he delivered aid to Syrian refugees.

The taxi-driver, from Manchester, was kept hostage until he was beheaded by Jihadi John on video in October 2014.   

Before he was killed, Mr Henning was forced to tell the camera that he was being murdered in retaliation for parliament's decision to attack ISIS.  

Originally from Salford, he had seen the suffering first hand during a life-changing visit to a refugee camp, which inspired him to help the innocents whose lives were being wrecked by the conflict.

After volunteering with a Muslim charity, the 47-year-old agreed to drive 3,000 miles in a convoy of old ambulances to help the aid effort and take much-needed medical supplies to hospitals in the northern Syrian province of Idlib.

Known as 'Gadget' to friends and family for his fondness for technology, Mr Henning had been washing cars in the UK to raise money for donations before setting off on his fourth visit to the country.

He travelled with eight others from charity Al-Fathiha Global, who intended to deliver vital equipment, including NHS ambulances packed with baby milk, nappies, food and defibrillators, but was kidnapped by ISIS extremists on Boxing Day, shortly after making the 4,000-mile journey to the town of Al-Dana.

A fan of Phil Collins, which he enjoyed playing as he drove, Mr Henning was incredibly popular and during one trip insisted on sleeping inside his ambulance instead of a hotel to save money so it could be donated to the refugees instead.

Kasim Jameel, leader of the convoy on which Mr Henning was travelling when he was kidnapped, described his friend as a 'big softie.'

Dr Shameela Islam-Zulfiqar, who was also in the convoy, said Mr Henning was 'remarkable.'

'He's such a compassionate and selfless human being,' she said. 'It just simply wasn't enough for Alan to sit back and just donate or raise awareness.

He had to get up and do something about what he'd seen Every time the convoys went he had a yearning to go. That really motivated him, to see, practically, first-hand the difference he was making.' 

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Scottish father-of-two who spent his career as an aid worker 

David Haines, who was beheaded a week after Steven Sotloff, was the first British victim of Jihadi John

David Haines, who was beheaded a week after Steven Sotloff, was the first British victim of Jihadi John

David Haines, who was beheaded a week after Steven Sotloff, was the first British victim of Jihadi John.  

The father-of-two, from Holderness, East Yorkshire, was taken hostage while working for relief agency ACTED in Syria in March this year.

He was captured near the Atmeh refugee camp, just inside the Syrian border with Turkey. 

Mr Haines spent his career as an aid worker helping to protect innocent civilians in developing nations.

For more than two decades, he travelled with aid agencies through Syria, Libya, the former Yugoslavia and South Sudan.

He dedicated his life to promoting peace in places of violent conflict and oversaw projects to save civilians from land mines.

The 44-year-old was described as a hero by his family, who were inspired by him to travel the world on further aid missions.

He had a teenage daughter in Scotland from a previous marriage with his first wife, and a four-year-old daughter, Athea, in Croatia from his second wife.

Mr Haines was brought up in Perth, Scotland, and studied at Perth Academy before joining the military aged 17.

According to his online CV he spent 11 years in the military, holding 'various positions covering security and threat assessments in a number of different countries' between 1988 and 1999.

It did not specify with which armed forces he served, although his ISIS execution video claimed he had been in the Royal Air Force. 

His brother Mike later confirmed this, saying he was an engineer. 

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26-year-old who was helping refugees while living in Beirut  

Peter Kassig, a 26-year-old from Indiana, started a non-profit organisation called Special Emergency Response and Assistance (SERA).

The Iraq war veteran, who was living in Beirut to provide relief for refugees of the Syrian crisis, was beheaded by ISIS executioner Jihadi John, in November 2014.

Writing on his profile page on fundraising website FundRazr, Mr Kassig said he had previously worked as a medic in a hospital in Tripoli, Lebanon.

He said: 'When I first started this cause to help those in need, I was on my own but I saw first-hand the shortages in available resources and supplies for people who were suffering in Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey as a result of the violence.

'The amount of feedback and support from people all around the world motivated me to get organised and develop a platform through which people could send donations to support the continuation of my work.'

Kassig joined the U.S. Army Rangers in 2006 and was deployed to Iraq in 2007.

He was honourably discharged for medical reasons after a brief tour and returned to the United States to study political science.

However, in 2010, he decided to take time off from his studies and began his certification as an emergency medical technician.

He then decided to travel to Beirut to try and help those in need as a result of the Syria crisis.

It was after a short time in the country that he started up his own aid group, SERA.

Few details are publicly known about how Kassig was taken captive. 

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