The political party Reform UK has unleashed a fierce attack on the Conservative Party, stating they "cannot be trusted" following revelations about the decision to grant British citizenship to activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah. The controversy centres on historic social media posts by the activist, which have resurfaced following his arrival in the UK.
The Citizenship Decision and Backlash
Alaa Abd El-Fattah, who was recently freed after years of detention in Egypt, was granted UK citizenship in December 2021 under Boris Johnson's government. The move, reportedly facilitated through his UK-born mother, allowed him to travel to Britain on Boxing Day after being pardoned by Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in September. His arrival prompted scrutiny of old tweets from around 2010, which allegedly called for violence against Zionists and police.
While Abd El-Fattah has apologised, saying he understood "how shocking and hurtful" the comments were, the gesture was dismissed by Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp as an "insincere apology." Philp has called for the current Labour home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, to revoke the citizenship.
High-Profile Tory Figures Implicated
A Reform UK spokesman directly linked several senior Conservatives to the case. "Alaa Abd El-Fattah was granted British citizenship in 2021 by Boris Johnson’s government. Liz Truss and James Cleverly both personally intervened on his case," the spokesman stated. They also noted that Kemi Badenoch was a minister at the relevant time.
The party also criticised Tory shadow national security minister Alicia Kearns, who had initially expressed relief at his pardon. "She is still the Tory shadow national security minister. The Tories would let in countless more like him given the chance. The Conservatives cannot be trusted," the spokesman concluded. Kearns has since said she felt "deeply let down and frankly betrayed" upon learning of the tweets, but maintained that detention without due process was wrong.
Political Fallout and Divergent Views
Facing questions, Chris Philp distanced himself from the 2021 decision, telling Times Radio he did not know if ministers were fully aware of the case details. He asserted, "all I can do is speak for what I know today, and that is that if I were home secretary today, I’d be revoking his citizenship and deporting him."
Labour MP John McDonnell, a long-time campaigner for Abd El-Fattah's release, offered a different perspective. He described the activist as a "furious young man" whose "appalling" tweets were exposed over a decade ago, but emphasised a transformation into an advocate for human rights. "He won support because his life demonstrated how bitterness and anger can be overcome," McDonnell stated.
The Foreign Office, which had worked for his release under successive governments, condemned the historic tweets as "abhorrent." Abd El-Fattah's imprisonment in Egypt was previously deemed a breach of international law by UN investigators.
