Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has demanded an urgent review of Foreign Office procedures after "abhorrent" historical social media posts by recently freed activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah were missed by the government.
Backlash Over Historical Posts
The British-Egyptian national, who arrived in the UK on Boxing Day after his release from an Egyptian prison, faced immediate controversy as tweets from 2010 surfaced. The posts appeared to call for violence against Zionists and police.
Both Ms Cooper and Prime Minister Keir Starmer had publicly welcomed Mr El-Fattah's arrival, a move that now faces significant criticism. The Foreign Secretary stated the emergence of these tweets, alongside the celebratory government messages, had added to distress within Jewish communities amid rising antisemitism.
Systemic Failures and Apology
In a letter to Dame Emily Thornberry, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms Cooper declared that long-standing due diligence arrangements had proven "completely inadequate" in this high-profile consular case. She has instructed the permanent under-secretary to examine the serious information failures.
Mr El-Fattah, who was granted UK citizenship in December 2021 under Boris Johnson's premiership, has since apologised. In a statement, he said he understood "how shocking and hurtful" the comments were, describing them as the angry expressions of a young man during regional crises and police brutality in Egypt.
Calls for Deportation and Government Stance
The revelation has prompted calls from the Conservative Party and Reform UK for his British citizenship to be revoked. However, government sources indicate there are no current plans to do so, as case law limits such action to circumstances involving fraud, dangerous criminals, or terrorists.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister defended the government's fundamental action in securing the return of a British citizen unfairly detained abroad, while simultaneously condemning the nature of the historic tweets. Mr El-Fattah's imprisonment for spreading false news had previously been branded a breach of international law by UN investigators.
