26. In such contexts, there is a risk that legal changes will be driven by anxiety or frustration, public and media pressure on government, and longstanding racist and other stereotypes. Legislation introduced in such contexts may be triggered by the need to show symbolic strength, the pursuit of administrative convenience, or an embrace of racist and populist narratives. There is a danger that the human rights impacts will be disregarded.42 This raises significant concern, particularly when considering the permanent nature of nationality deprivation and the fundamental way in which this impacts a wide range of human rights. 27. Originally under the BNA, the HS was empowered to deprive only naturalised British citizens of their nationality if satisfied that the person had been disloyal to the UK, had assisted the enemy during war, or had been sentenced in any country to imprisonment for a term not less than twelve months.43 28. In 2002, the government introduced the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, empowering the HS to deprive a person of nationality if they had done something ‘seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the UK or a British overseas territory’. This dramatically widened the criteria for deprivation and increased the HS’s discretion.44 In addition, deprivation powers were permitted to be used against British nationals by birth (i.e. not just against naturalised British citizens), though – crucially – the HS could not make a deprivation order which would render a person stateless.45 29. In 2004, the government introduced the Asylum and Immigration Act 2004, which removed the suspensive right of appeal for deprivation of nationality decisions.46 This means that the decision to deprive someone of nationality takes immediate effect, making it more difficult for the former citizen to appeal, particularly if they were outside the country at the time. 30. In 2006, following the 2005 London bombings, the government introduced the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. The 2006 Act lowered the threshold for deprivation from ‘conduct seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the UK’ to circumstances in which it would be ‘conducive to the public good’, further broadening the discretion of the HS.47 31. The Immigration Act 2014 enabled the HS to deprive a naturalised British citizen of their nationality even where this rendered them stateless if they acted in a manner ‘seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the UK’. Then-HS Theresa May explicitly acknowledged that this amendment was ‘a consequence of a specific case’: Al-Jedda,48 where, despite the HS considering it in the ‘public good to deprive’ Al-Jedda of nationality, she had been prevented from doing so on the basis that he would have been rendered stateless. 32. Finally, in November 2021, the government introduced a new provision – Clause 9 – into the Nationality and Borders Bill. If adopted, Clause 9 will empower the HS to deprive people of British 42 ‘Shamima Begum: Number of people stripped of UK citizenship soars by 600% in a year’ The Independent (2019), available at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/shamima-begum-uk-citizenship-stripped-home-office-sajid-javid-a8788301.html. 42 Sangeetha Pillai & George Williams, ‘The utility of Citizenship Stripping Laws in the UK, Canada and Australia’ (2017) 41 Melbourne University Law Review 845, available at: http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/MelbULawRw/2017/40.html; Hundreds stripped of citizenship in the last 15 year, study finds (21 Jan 2022), available at: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jan/21/hundredsstripped-british-citizenship-last-15-years-study-finds. 43 ‘How many people have been stripped of their Briitsh Citizenship’ Free movement, available at: https://freemovement.org.uk/howmany-people-have-been-stripped-of-their-british-citizenship-home-office-deprivation/. 44 New subsection 40(2). 45 Nationality, Immigration & Asylum Act (2002), available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/41/section/4. 46 Asylum and Immigration Act (2004), available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/19/schedule/2. 47 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/13/section/56 48 Secretary of State for the Home Department v Al-Jedda [2013] UKSC 62, available at: https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/docs/uksc2012-0129-judgment.pdf. 7