CITIZENSHIP: FROM RIGHT TO PRIVILEGE 1973-2002 2003 May 2010-Dec 2013 none 24 one (Abu Hamza) 2014 4 none known 2015 5 2006 one 2016 14 2007 one 2017 104 2008 none 2018 21 2009 two 2019 27 2010 4/5 2020 10 2004-2005 > We know from a variety of sources that the vast majority of those deprived are Muslim men with south Asian or middle Eastern/ north African heritage; 15 > Most deprivations are on national security grounds, although 3 or 4 in 2015 were on grounds of serious criminality (trafficking and sex crimes against children); > Although the numbers remain small, there has been steadily increasing use of deprivation powers over the past two decades, with a large spike in 2017 corresponding to the collapse of ISIS in Syria. Arbitrariness unchecked As the focus of deprivation powers has shifted away from what the person has done to more nebulous and undefined criteria for deprivation, the danger of arbitrary deprivations is increased, and with it the danger of discriminatory implementation: > The Principles on Deprivation of Nationality as a National Security Measure (2020), reflecting principles of international law, require ‘clear, precise, comprehensive and predictable’ criteria ‘to guarantee legal certainty’;16 > The phrases ‘conducive to the public good’ and conduct ‘prejudicial to the vital interests’ of the UK are extremely vague and are not defined in the legislation; 15 See e.g. ‘”Medieval exile”: the 42 Britons stripped of their citizenship’, Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 26 February 2013 (updated, nd); Deport Deprive Extradite website; home secretary’s statement on foreign fighters, HC Deb 18 February 2019, vol 654, col 1193. 16 Principle 7.3. 8