Government orders urgent review into 'serious failures' in case of freed Egyptian dissident Alaa Abd El-Fattah

Sir 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.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Monday she has asked a senior Foreign Office official to urgently review the failings in the case after it emerged that current and former ministers were never briefed on Mr Fattah's tweets.

She said civil servants were also “unaware” of the comments, and added that she was taking the “unacceptable” failure “extremely seriously”.

In a letter to Dame Emily Thornberry, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms Cooper wrote: "Based on the work I instigated in the FCDO over the weekend, it is apparent not only that current and former prime ministers were never briefed on these tweets when they spoke publicly about this case in the past, but also that the civil servants in charge of this case were also unaware.”

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She added: “It is clear that this has been an unacceptable failure and that long-standing procedures and due diligence arrangements have been completely inadequate for this situation, leading to the serious problem of successive foreign secretaries and prime ministers making public statements without all relevant information.

“In the context of rising antisemitism, and recent horrific attacks against Jewish people in this country and around the world, I am deeply concerned that the unexpected emergence of these historical tweets – coming alongside the social media posts that I and other senior politicians sent on Boxing Day welcoming the conclusion of this long-running case and Mr El Fattah’s reunion with his family – have added to the distress felt by Jewish communities in the UK, and I very much regret that.

“I have asked the permanent under secretary as a matter of urgency to review the serious information failures in this case and more broadly the systems that are in place within the department for conducting due diligence on the individual high-profile consular and human-rights cases for which the FCDO is responsible, to ensure that those systems are functioning properly for the future, and that all necessary lessons are learned.”

Ms Cooper added: “The provision of consular support is grounded in the citizenship status of the individual and the circumstances of their case, but consular support must never be interpreted as support for an individual’s personal views.”

While the Government has condemned Mr El-Fattah’s historic tweets and "considers them to be abhorrent,” it has also defended his entry into the UK.

Confirming the review, Sir Keir wrote on X: "As @YvetteCooperMP sets out in her letter, the historic tweets by Alaa Abd El-Fattah are absolutely abhorrent. With the rise of antisemitism, and recent horrific attacks, I know this has added to the distress of many in the Jewish community in the UK. We are taking steps to review the information failures in this case."

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman defended the Government’s approach in the case on Monday, telling reporters: “We welcome the return of a British citizen unfairly detained abroad, as we would in all cases and as we have done in the past.”

He continued: “That is central to Britain’s commitment to religious and political freedom.

“That said, it doesn’t change the fact that we have condemned the nature of these historic tweets, and we consider them to be abhorrent, and we’ve been very clear about that."

Sir Keir Starmer was “not aware of the historical tweets” until after the activist entered the UK, Downing Street said.

Asked whether the Government was considering steps to remove Mr Abd El-Fattah’s citizenship, No 10 said: “Clearly, we don’t get into individual citizenship cases.”

However, officials are reportedly unlikely to act because they do not believe Mr Fattah’s comments meet the legal bar for revoking citizenship, or that he poses a significant threat to national security, according to the Telegraph.

Downing Street also fears an attempt to remove the Egyptian dissident's UK nationality could be blocked by the courts, the newspaper reports.

Senior government sources had earlier suggested they were leaning towards not deporting the British-Egyptian dissident, according to the Times.

They reportedly believed there were no grounds for stripping Fattah’s UK nationality as case law from 2016 has ruled that this can only be done in instances of fraud or in the cases of dangerous criminals and terrorists.

Labour MPs have allegedly described Sir Keir’s initial intervention as “shocking” and “ridiculous” as they backed calls for Mr El-Fattah to have his citizenship stripped.

One unnamed MP told the Times: “It’s truly shocking that we’ve welcomed a racist antisemite into our country with open arms. Serious questions need to be asked about the lack of judgment here and the Home Office should seriously be contemplating stripping him of his British citizenship.”

Another allegedly said: “Letting in a thug with a history of rampant antisemitism and anti-Zionism crossing the line into terror supporting and calling for the death of all Zionists is ridiculous and bad enough.

“But after Bondi Beach and the Manchester synagogue attack when the PM said he’d do everything to make the Jewish community feel safe, this looks and sounds like a kick in the face. Fattah should undoubtedly lose his British citizenship.”

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.

Mr Abd El-Fattah has apologised for the social media posts, saying he understood “how shocking and hurtful” his previous comments were.

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.

In a statement, the Egyptian activist said: "I am shaken that, just as I am being reunited with my family for the first time in 12 years, several historic tweets of mine have been republished and used to question and attack my integrity and values, escalating to calls for the revocation of my citizenship.

"Looking at the tweets now - the ones that were not completely twisted out of their meaning - I do understand how shocking and hurtful they are, and for that I unequivocally apologise.

"They were mostly expressions of a young man's anger and frustrations in a time of regional crises (the wars on Iraq, on Lebanon and Gaza), and the rise of police brutality against Egyptian youth.

"I particularly regret some that were written as part of online insult battles with the total disregard for how they read to other people. I should have known better."

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “Mr 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. The Government condemns Mr Fattah’s historic tweets and considers them to be abhorrent.”

In a letter to, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper wrote: "As you know, consular support was in this case provided to Mr El-Fattah during his detention in Egypt, where repeated human rights concerns had been raised over very many years not just by successive UK Governments but also by leaders of nations from across the world.

"For dual nationals in their other country of nationality, the policy is that such assistance is provided where there are concerns about particular vulnerabilities or human rights issues. The previous government had decided to provide assistance to Mr El-Fattah on that basis, an approach we continued in government.

"The delivery of consular services to British nationals abroad is a vital public service and one of the FCDO's top priorities, especially in cases involving potential human rights abuses or political repression. The provision of that consular support is grounded in the citizenship status of the individual and the circumstances of their case, but consular support must never be interpreted as support for an individual's personal views.

"That is why following his registration as a British national in 2021, successive governments and teams of officials have worked in good faith to secure Mr El-Fattah's release from detention and to bring this long-running case to a conclusion.

"I look forward to updating you in due course on the changes the department will put in place in response to the concerns i have raised, and I thank you for the continued work of your committee in scrutinising the FCO's approach to these issues."