There are "no plans" to allow Shamima Begum to return to the UK, a cabinet member insisted - in spite of the uncertainty engulfing Syria.

Ms Begum, who left the UK as a 15-year-old and married an Islamic State militant, is currently in a Syrian refugee camp. It is unclear what will happen to those in such camps after Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) forced brutal dictator Bashar al-Assad into exile.

Cabinet office minister Pat McFadden said: "It is difficult to say at the moment what will happen to those camps, all of this is very uncertain at the moment." He went on: "No one can say for sure what's going to happen to those camps right now, or indeed whether this new group will be able to take over the whole country. That's not certain either."

Asked if Ms Begum, now 24, might be allowed to return to the UK, Mr McFadden said: "No plans to do that right now." She was stripped of her British citizenship in 2019, and remains in a camp in Northern Syria.

There has been speculation that people in these camps could be forced into exile when a new Government takes control. Ms Begum, who grew up in London, has long been calling to be allowed to return to the UK, where she is likely to face legal action.

But in August the Supreme Court ruled she would not be allowed to challenge the removal of her citizenship. Her lawyers said at the time: "It is a matter of the gravest concern that British women and children have been arbitrarily imprisoned in a Syrian camp for five years, all detained indefinitely without any prospect of a trial.

"All other countries in the UK's position have intervened and achieved the return of their citizens and their children."

Appearing on Sky News, Mr McFadden also faced questions over whether the UK would allow Assad's wife Asma, who is a British citizen, to return to the UK.

Assad has been granted asylum in Russia after he left Damascus. Quizzed by host Kay Burley on how he felt about that, Mr McFadden said: "That's a decision between them and the Russian, authorities. Russia propped up the regime. If you'd ask me which country will he flee to, Russia or Iran were probably the two that will be highest on the list."

Asked if the family could be allowed to come to the UK: "Well no such request's been received." Pressed whether it would make him uneasy, the cabinet member said: "I think given the background of the regime, it it does, but, I can't speak to anyone's individual rights if somebody is a British passport holder as I believe his wife is.

"But right now they are, in Russia. They've sought refuge in the country that propped up the regime and least not see if any indication of anything different."