Jack Letts, the son of an organic farmer from Oxford, traveled to Syria in 2014, after converting to Islam.
He lived under the Islamic State for several years before making an escape in 2017 during the Battle of Raqqa. He was caught by Kurdish forces trying to flee the war-torn cityand has been held at a prison in northern Syria ever since then, accused of being an ISIS fighter.
While Letts has denied ever fighting for ISIS in previous interviews , he explained why he decided to move to the caliphate in a new interview with ITV News .
After converting to Islam while living in Jordan, Letts says he "spent two years researching" the religion and "came to a sort of ridiculous" conclusion "that the right thing to do was to come to Syria."
While in Syria, he settled in Raqqa for a period and married an Iraqi woman who recently gave birth to his son, who he has never met.
Like other Westerners in prisons and refugee camps after fleeing ISIS, Letts' future is unknown. He says he wants to return to the UK, but doubts that the government will bring him back. Letts also holds dual citizenship in Canada, but doubts that country will help him since "no one really cares."
When asked what he misses the most about Britain, he said, "I miss people mostly."
He continued: "What else do I miss? I miss pasties. It's not really English sort of Scottish isnt it? I miss pasties. And Doctor Who. Sounds a bit stupid thats all."
When asked by ITV News about Letts' case, the Home Office released this statement: "In recent days the Home Secretary has clearly stated that his priority is the safety and security of Britain and the people who live here.
"In order to protect this country, he has the power to deprive someone of their British citizenship where it would not render them stateless.
"We do not comment on individual cases, but any decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on all available evidence and not taken lightly."
Read the full story at ITV News
