UK government can impose entry ban on Lisa Smith, court rules

The UK has a legal right to exclude non-British citizens from EEA (European Economic Area) countries, including Ireland

Former soldier Lisa Smith was born in Ireland, but due to her parents being unmarried at the time, missed out on automatic British citizenship. File Picture: PA

The UK government has won an appeal against a tribunal's conclusion that a UK entry ban could not be imposed on former Defence Forces soldier Lisa Smith convicted of membership of the so-called Islamic State (IS) terror group.

Lisa Smith, 41, an ex-Defence Forces member, was found guilty in May last year of IS membership, but cleared of a separate charge of financing terrorism, after a nine-week trial at the Special Criminal Court. She lost an appeal against the severity of her 15-month prison sentence last month.