The three east London schoolgirls who fled to Syria to join Islamic State (IS) are believed to have stolen family jewellery to fund their trip, MPs have been told.
Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and 15-year-old Amira Abase flew from Gatwick to Istanbul on February 17 and are feared to have continued to Syria to become so-called "jihadi brides".
According to reports, they are now staying in a house in the IS militants' stronghold, Raqqa.
The three girls paid more than £1,000 in cash to a travel agent for their flights to Turkey, the Home Affairs Select Committee heard.
Asked how they raised the funds, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, the national police lead for counter-terrorism, said: "We think it's linked to taking jewellery from one of their family members."
Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe apologised for failing to communicate more directly with the families of the three girls - but insisted there was nothing more the force could have done to stop them leaving the UK.
It has emerged the three teenagers were among seven schoolgirls who were handed letters by the police about another 15-year-old from Bethnal Green Academy who ran away to Syria in December.
Earlier, relatives of the girls demanded an apology from the Met for failing to send the crucial letter directly to their parents.
Had they received them family solicitor Tasnime Akunjee said they would have been "on notice" for issues like radicalisation and foreign travel.
In response, Sir Bernard said: "First of all we're sorry if the family feel like that, clearly it's a terrible situation they find themselves in, having lost their daughters in such a horrible way.
"You can only half imagine what a parent is going through at this time. In that sense, I'm sorry they're in that situation.
"Also sorry the letter we intended to get through, didn't get through. It's clear that failed. It was intended for them and failed and for that of course we're sorry.
"I don't think we would go as far as saying therefore that caused the girls to go.
"There was nothing more we could have done to prevent that. Because at the beginning we were trying to get from these girls information about a further young woman who had actually left in December that was our principle reason for talking to that family.
"In hindsight, we now know that these girls were planning to go and neither the family, the police, the school nor anyone else realised that."
Amira's father Hussen Abase, Khadija's cousin Fahmida Aziz and Shamima's older sister Sahima Begum said there were no signs the girls had been radicalised.
Miss Begum told the committee: "My sister was into normal teenage things. She used to watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians."
She said her family "did what they could" to monitor Shamima's activities, but they would have done more had they known the girl who was the subject of the undelivered letters - a friend of Shamima's - had gone to Syria.
"We would have questioned that," she said.
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