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| Syria girls: Met Police chief apologises for letter failure | Syria girls: Met Police chief apologises for letter failure |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The head of the Met Police has said sorry to the families of three girls missing in Syria after they failed to receive a letter intended for them. | The head of the Met Police has said sorry to the families of three girls missing in Syria after they failed to receive a letter intended for them. |
| The families complained the letter - about a friend of the girls who went to Syria in 2014 - was given to the pupils instead of being sent directly to them. | The families complained the letter - about a friend of the girls who went to Syria in 2014 - was given to the pupils instead of being sent directly to them. |
| It is feared Shamima Begum, Amira Abase, both 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16, left for Syria to join Islamic State. | It is feared Shamima Begum, Amira Abase, both 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16, left for Syria to join Islamic State. |
| Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe told MPs he was sorry the letter "didn't get through". | Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe told MPs he was sorry the letter "didn't get through". |
| However, he said there was nothing more police could have done to prevent the girls leaving for Syria. | However, he said there was nothing more police could have done to prevent the girls leaving for Syria. |
| "In hindsight, we now know that these girls were planning to go and neither the family, the police, the school nor anyone else realised that," he told the Home Affairs Select Committee. | "In hindsight, we now know that these girls were planning to go and neither the family, the police, the school nor anyone else realised that," he told the Home Affairs Select Committee. |
| Stolen jewellery | Stolen jewellery |
| The families of the schoolgirls told the committee they would have done more to monitor the girls if they had known one of their friends had already gone to Syria. | The families of the schoolgirls told the committee they would have done more to monitor the girls if they had known one of their friends had already gone to Syria. |
| All four teenagers were friends and pupils at Bethnal Green Academy, in east London. | All four teenagers were friends and pupils at Bethnal Green Academy, in east London. |
| The committee heard the police letter about the first teenager's disappearance had been given to the three girls, and had not been passed on to parents. | The committee heard the police letter about the first teenager's disappearance had been given to the three girls, and had not been passed on to parents. |
| Sahima Begum - sister of Shamima - told the committee her family was "never given the opportunity" to question Shamima as they did not receive the letter. | Sahima Begum - sister of Shamima - told the committee her family was "never given the opportunity" to question Shamima as they did not receive the letter. |
| She said her family only found the letter after Shamima had gone missing. | She said her family only found the letter after Shamima had gone missing. |
| Ms Begum said her family "did what they could" to monitor her sister's activities, but would have done more had they known the first girl had gone to Syria. | Ms Begum said her family "did what they could" to monitor her sister's activities, but would have done more had they known the first girl had gone to Syria. |
| The three girls paid more than £1,000 in cash to a travel agent for their flights to Istanbul in Turkey - from where they travelled to Syria - the committee also heard. | The three girls paid more than £1,000 in cash to a travel agent for their flights to Istanbul in Turkey - from where they travelled to Syria - the committee also heard. |
| Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley - the national police lead for counter-terrorism - told the committee officers believed the girls funded the tickets by taking jewellery from a family member. | Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley - the national police lead for counter-terrorism - told the committee officers believed the girls funded the tickets by taking jewellery from a family member. |
| There was "no evidence" the girls had been involved in terrorism and if they returned to the UK they would not be arrested, he added. | There was "no evidence" the girls had been involved in terrorism and if they returned to the UK they would not be arrested, he added. |
| However, he said Aqsa Mahmood - a Scottish woman who travelled to Syria and is suspected of helping to recruit the three schoolgirls online - would be prosecuted if she ever returns to the UK. | |
| The 20-year-old is reported to have been in touch with one of the three schoolgirls. | |
| 'Role to play' | 'Role to play' |
| The families had earlier called for the Met Police to apologise after the letter was given to the girls, rather than to the families directly. | |
| Solicitor Tasnime Akunjee, representing the families, told the committee that had the parents received the letter they would have been "on notice" for issues like radicalisation and foreign travel. | Solicitor Tasnime Akunjee, representing the families, told the committee that had the parents received the letter they would have been "on notice" for issues like radicalisation and foreign travel. |
| Police had "put a cap" on the amount of information passed to other families about the first girl, he said. | Police had "put a cap" on the amount of information passed to other families about the first girl, he said. |
| It comes as Prime Minister David Cameron said parents and schools must also help prevent young Britons travelling to Syria. | It comes as Prime Minister David Cameron said parents and schools must also help prevent young Britons travelling to Syria. |
| In an interview with LBC radio, he said that no institution should be made a "scapegoat" for the girls' disappearance. | In an interview with LBC radio, he said that no institution should be made a "scapegoat" for the girls' disappearance. |
| The three schoolgirls travelled from east London to Turkey last month, before crossing into an area of Syria controlled by Islamic State militants. | The three schoolgirls travelled from east London to Turkey last month, before crossing into an area of Syria controlled by Islamic State militants. |
| Mr Cameron said "everyone has a role to play" in stopping Britons joining IS, including politicians, parents, communities and schools. | Mr Cameron said "everyone has a role to play" in stopping Britons joining IS, including politicians, parents, communities and schools. |
| "When you have got educated British schoolgirls at an outstanding school in Greenwich finding it somehow attractive to get on a plane to travel to Syria to go and live in a country where gay people are being thrown off buildings and British citizens are being beheaded, and appalling brutality is being meted out, we have a problem," he said. | "When you have got educated British schoolgirls at an outstanding school in Greenwich finding it somehow attractive to get on a plane to travel to Syria to go and live in a country where gay people are being thrown off buildings and British citizens are being beheaded, and appalling brutality is being meted out, we have a problem," he said. |
| He added: "Let's not pretend this is simply a problem that can be dealt with by policing." | He added: "Let's not pretend this is simply a problem that can be dealt with by policing." |