The government wants to make temporary rules giving ministers the right to remove Dutch nationality from people suspected of terrorism offences permanent, a move which has been criticised by both MPs and regulators.

In addition, ministers want to stop the security service regulator CTIVD from supervising the withdrawal of Dutch nationality, saying it is up to parliament to decide if the rules are being applied correctly, broadcaster NOS reported.

The justice ministry was given the right to withdraw Dutch nationality from people for a five year period in 2017. Now ministers want to make the legislation permanent, even though the Council of State has said there are no heavyweight arguments to make this necessary.

Until now, 17 people have lost their right to a Dutch passport because of their involvement in terrorism. None of them are known to have attempted to return to the Netherlands from Syria and Iraq which, the cabinet says, highlights the success of the scheme.

The Council of State, the government’s highest legal advisory body, says stripping people of Dutch nationality is only transferring the problem to other ‘often fragile’ countries. In addition, it means people cannot be held accountable for their crimes in court, the Council of State has said.