- jack Letts, 24, fled his middle class life in Oxfordshire to fight in Syria in 2014
- He's been begging to return after being captured and jailed by Kurdish forces
- One of Sajid Javid's last acts as Home Secretary was to deprive Letts of passport
- His mother, Sally Lane, 57, told MailOnline he was 'victim of a witch hunt'
The mother of former ISIS fanatic Jihadi Jack said her son is 'a victim of a witch hunt' as she vowed to do 'everything possible' to win back British citizenship for him.
Jack Letts, 24, fled his middle-class life in Oxfordshire to fight for the brutal Islamist fanatics in Syria in 2014, but has been begging to return home since being captured by Kurdish forces in 2017.
His mother Sally Lane, 57 – who was convicted with her husband of funding terrorism after sending money to their son in Syria – told MailOnline that the British Government had made Jack into a scapegoat.
Sally Lane, mother of former ISIS fanatic Jihadi Jack, is demanding that he be allowed home
Jack Letts poses in Syria in a photo shared on his Facebook after fleeing his middle class life in Oxfordshire
Speaking from her terraced home in Oxford, Mrs Lane said: 'My son is a victim of a witch hunt. He is a scapegoat for the Government.'
But neighbours of the family, who asked not to be named, branded the bid for sympathy an 'outrage'.
'They can't see how they come across,' the neighbour said. 'Their son was an ISIS terrorist and now they want us to feel sorry for him rather than his victims. Most people are outraged.'
A Home Office spokesman underlined the fact that Jack continues to pose a terror threat to Britain. He said:
'Decisions on depriving a dual national of citizenship are based on substantial advice from officials, lawyers and the intelligence agencies and all available information.
'This power is one way we can counter the terrorist threat posed by some of the most dangerous individuals and keep our country safe.'
Mrs Lane said that she and her husband, organic farmer husband John Letts, 58, were 'doing everything possible' to persuade the Canadian authorities to allow their son to settle there.
On Tuesday, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale confirmed that Canada does not intend to repatriate the Muslim convert.
Mrs Lane and Mr Letts are planning to travel to the country to continue their campaign, the mother-of-two told MailOnline, adding that her husband had been giving 'a lot of interviews to Canadian journalists' to highlight Jack's plight.
The former jihadi, who is locked up in a Kurdish jail, held dual British and Canadian citizenship. But his UK passport was revoked by Home Secretary Sajid Javid, despite the former terrorist's pleas to be allowed to return to his family home.
This ignited a diplomatic row as Canada accused Britain of 'off-loading' its responsibilities for the former fanatic.
But he may prefer to move to Canada as a legal loophole may make him immune from prosecution there.
John McKay, chair of Canada's Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, said that if Letts is accepted into the country, he would not be tried.
Sally Lane and John Letts (pictured), who is Canadian, sent £223 to their son while he was in Syria despite learning he had joined IS. They were convicted of funding terrorism
He said: 'The problem is that we are between a rock and a hard place.
'Our legislation works on the assumption - and it is actually stated in legislation - that you have to leave from Canada in order to be prosecuted for a terrorist offence. We are unable to initiate any prosecution.'
Mr McKay added the decision to revoke Letts' citizenship by outgoing Home Secretary Mr Javid, was 'gutless' and that 'everything about him is British.'
A spokesman for Canada's Public Safety Minister, Ralph Goodale, said: 'Canada is disappointed that the United Kingdom has taken this unilateral action to off-load their responsibilities.'
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