© Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters
Home secretary Theresa May can strip dual nationals of their British citizenship if it is "conducive to the public good".
Home secretary Theresa May can strip dual nationals of their British citizenship if it is "conducive to the public good".
Increasing numbers of British nationals are being stripped of their citizenship under Home Office powers introduced in the wake of the 2005 London bombings.
The number of people subject to the power, under which the home secretary can deprive dual nationals of their British citizenship if it is deemed to be in the public interest, has increased since the coalition government came to power.
The measure was included in the 2006 Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act as a direct result of the July 2005 bombings in which 52 people died and more than 700 were injured. It was used only four times in the following four years, but has been used nine times since last year's general election.
Five of the dual nationals deprived of their citizenship were British Pakistanis, while two were of dual British and Sudanese nationality. The remaining six were Australian, Iraqi, Russian, Egyptian and Lebanese dual nationals.
To date 10 of the orders have been appealed against.
The figures were obtained by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act after the Home Office refused to release them. It also refused to offer any explanation for the increase, saying: "British nationality is a privilege and the home secretary has the ability to remove it from dual nationals when she believes it to be in the public good."
Comment: The hypocrisy of the Israeli government is once again on display.