First British teen to join Islamic State in Syria named

Mohammad Uddin, whose daughter Sharmeena Begum is believed to have travelled to Turkey in December before crossing the border to the war-torn country, said the 15-year-old was close friends with Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15.

Footage has emerged of a man appearing to help the three girls into Syria from Turkey, while the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has confirmed that a foreign spy had been detained on suspicion of helping the schoolgirls travel to Syria to join IS as “jihadi brides”.

Mr Uddin, 38, told the Daily Mail he warned police and the girls’ school, Bethnal Green Academy, to watch the trio after Sharmeena’s disappearance.

Missing teens

He described his daughter as an ordinary teenager who loved EastEnders, shopping and make-up and wanted to be a doctor, but who began taking a serious interest in Islam after her mother died in January last year.

Mr Uddin said he urged police to keep a close watch on the other teenagers after Sharmeena disappeared.

He said: “I said (to officers): ‘Keep an eye on the three girls, maybe they’ll give you a clue.’ Shamima, Kadiza and Amira were her closest friends.

“I was pretty sure when my daughter went missing that the four girls would have gone together. And when I realised (they hadn’t) I was surprised.

“I went to Bethnal Green Academy two days later, on the Monday, and I spoke to the deputy headmistress and I asked to speak to the three girls. She told me: ‘The police are speaking to them, so you can’t.”‘