Government condemns Egyptian activist’s ‘abhorrent’ social media posts
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has faced backlash after originally celebrating Mr Abd El-Fattah’s return to the UK on Boxing Day
The Government has condemned “abhorrent” past social media posts by activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah that sparked backlash since his return from detention in Egypt.
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The government's criticism follows calls from the Conservatives for the Egyptian-British dissident to be stripped of his UK citizenship and deported.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has faced criticism after celebrating Mr Abd El-Fattah’s return to the UK on Boxing Day after posts emerged in which the activist appears to call for violence towards Zionists and the police.
The posts, which date back to 2010, appear to be from Mr Abd El-Fattah’s X account - but could not be verified independently.
“The Government condemns Mr El-Fattah’s historic tweets and considers them to be abhorrent,” the Foreign Office said on Sunday.
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The statement was added to one issued earlier that read: “Mr El-Fattah is a British citizen.“It has been a long-standing priority under successive governments to work for his release from detention, and to see him reunited with his family in the UK.”
Jewish organisations have criticised the “effusive” response from Sir Keir Starmer’s government to the Egyptian-British dual national’s return.
They said the years-long campaign to secure his release, which successive Conservative and Labour governments lobbied for, showed a “lack of due diligence”.
Mr Abd El-Fattah, a British-Egyptian dual national, was detained in Egypt in September 2019, and in December 2021 was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of spreading false news.
His imprisonment was branded a breach of international law by UN investigators, and Mr Abd El-Fattah was released after being pardoned by Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi.
The Prime Minister said on Friday that he was “delighted” Mr Abd El-Fattah had been reunited with his loved ones in the UK, a sentiment echoed by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Justice Secretary David Lammy in similar posts.
It is understood that the prime minister was not aware of the controversial posts at the time of his initial statement.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said they had raised concerns with the Government and that there was an “urgent need” to find out whether Mr Abd El-Fattah still held the views expressed online.
Tory MP Alicia Kearns, a former chair of the foreign affairs select committee, said she felt “deeply let down, and frankly betrayed” after learning of Mr Abd El-Fattah’s “grotesque tweets” after supporting his cause.
“It is wholly improper for British citizens to be detained without due process by foreign states; however, Alaa must unequivocally apologise and make clear he now wholly rejects the hatred and antisemitism he expressed which is so wholly incompatible with British values.”
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick called for Mr Abd El-Fattah to be stripped of his citizenship, which he reportedly obtained through his UK-born mother.
Mr Jenrick said his links to the UK were “tenuous at best” and said that he had "extremist views", in his opinion.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, meanwhile, said he had reported Mr Abd el-Fattah to counter-terrorism police and said both Labour and the Conservatives were at fault.
“Whilst Robert Jenrick is right to criticise Starmer over Alaa abd El-Fattah – we must not forget that it was the Tory government who started this,” he said.