Britain opens door to 'Beatles' jihadists being executed in the US

Alexanda Kotey, left, and Shafee El-Sheikh were captured by Kurdish forces. Photos / Sky News

Britain will allow two notorious members of the "Beatles" group of Isis militants to be sent to the US, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The UK has abandoned its "blanket" opposition to the death penalty and Guantanamo Bay, the newspaper says.

The Daily Telegraph reports that documents show that the Government has agreed to hand over intelligence to help prosecute Alexanda Kotey and Shafee El-Sheikh in US courts.

The men both held British citizenship, though the newspaper says it has been reported that this has been secretly revoked by ministers.

Britain's Home Secretary Sajid Javid tells US Attorney-General Jeff Sessions in a letter that Britain will not demand "assurances" that the pair will not be executed in the US.

Other documents say that Britain will not formally oppose the pair being sent to Guantanamo without trial, although the Daily Telegraph says a Home Office source said the Trump Administration had been warned against that move.

The notorious Isis cell was behind the beheadings of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, and US humanitarian worker Peter Kassig. It also held more than 20 Western hostages.

The group's nickname came from the fact its four members had British accents.

Jihadi John, real name Mohammed Emwazi, was killed by a drone strike in Syria in 2015.
Kotey and El-Sheikh were captured in January 2018.

1/ EXCLUSIVE: I had first TV interview with notorious ISIS member from UK, part of group dubbed "The Beatles".

Accused of beheading reporters, he was caught by Kurds.

I met him face to face. He got angry at me. Interview in English for @akhbar.

Part1:pic.twitter.com/CaAV81towQ

— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) April 8, 2018

Interesting Sajid Javid backs down on assurances from US over death penalty on Isis Beatles.
Aligns him with Gavin Williamson: "A dead terrorist can’t cause any harm to Britain"
But poses clash w/ security minister Ben Wallace: "This country doesn’t believe in the death penalty" https://t.co/HAXGUXFtvy

— Lucy Fisher (@LOS_Fisher) July 22, 2018