The ISIS Beatles: Blood On Their Hands

Produced by ITN for ITV

Monday 22nd November at 11:05pm

Editor: Aidan Sansom

Bethan Haines confronts El Shafee Elsheikh, the alleged member of the Isis ' Beatles' suspected of killing her father | Scotland | The Times

In this hard-hitting current affairs documentary, ITV’s global security editor Rohit Kachroo meets with Bethany Haines, Marsha and Carl Mueller, and Diane Foley, the families of the people who were killed on camera by members of a British Islamic State terror cell dubbed the Beatles and hears of their fight to bring the murderers to justice. Spanish hostage and survivor Marc Marginedas also provides first-hand testimony of life in the Syrian prison where he was held alongside many of those who later died.

After the group’s ringleader, Mohammed Emwazi, known as “Jihadi John”, was killed in a US airstrike in 2015, Aine Davis was  sentenced to seven years in prison in 2017, the two remaining members of the terrorist group were stripped of their UK citizenships and extradited to the US to stand trial. While El Shafee Elsheikh is still awaiting trial and claiming his innocence, Alexanda Amon Kotey pleaded guilty and, as part of his plea deal to be returned to the UK to serve the rest of his sentence, agreed to meet with the families of his victims.

Aidan Sansom was editor on this project and comments “It’s a haunting look at the human cost of ISIS’ campaign of terror at its high watermark, spending time with the families of those who were executed. It was a pleasure to work with director Chris Hackett for the third time. He’s an expert hand at the tiller and, depressingly, 10 years younger than me.”

Watch it tonight on ITV at 11:05pm.