LONDON 18 Aug (ANA) - A Muslim convert who joined the Islamic State group as a teenager has had his British citizenship revoked, the BBC understands.

Jack Letts - nicknamed Jihadi Jack in the press - was 18 years old when he left school in Oxfordshire in 2014 to join IS fighters in Raqqa, Syria. 

He was jailed after being captured by Kurdish YPG forces while attempting to flee to Turkey in May 2017.

The Home Office said it would not comment on individual cases.

Mr Letts converted to Islam when he was 16 and is a dual UK-Canadian national. 

Former defence minister Tobias Ellwood has been critical of the government's decision to revoke Mr Letts' British citizenship. 

In a statement, tweeted on Sunday, he said removing the radicalised fighter's citizenship "shunts the responsibility elsewhere" when many fighters were "radicalised here in the UK".

He added that Britain "should be leading calls" on how "foreign fighters face justice and who is ultimately responsible for bringing them to justice".

While the Home Office would not comment on the issue, a spokesman 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."(ANA)

FA/ANA/18 August 2019-----