She duly received first class healthcare and a very warm welcome in the Midlands. Malala has now settled into school life in her adoptive city and last month was invited to open Birmingham's brand new library. "Pens and books are the weapons that will defeat terrorism," she defiantly declared.
And yet today the Home Office reveals its hideous new Immigration Bill, which comes crammed full of nasty, ill-thought provisions designed to discourage future Malalas from coming to our country. Appeal rights would be scrapped for the vulnerable. Private landlords would be turned into immigration officers. Our treasured system of free, universal healthcare for all could even be on the line.
Inspirational Malala has been standing up for girls' rights to education in Pakistan since she was just 11, often putting her own life at risk. Her bravery, and the fact she has continued her campaign from her new home in the UK, should make us all reflect about what kind of country we want to live in. No-one opposes fair immigration rules, proportionately enforced. But this type of political posturing simply fuels fear and intimidates vulnerable communities - poisoning already delicate race relations.
So the next time our politicians fete this young heroine, as they rightly and inevitably will, and the next time they trash the Human Rights Act for protecting all people in our country, they might reflect that actions speak louder than words and on the mixed signals they send to the world about British values.
