Downing Street has been engulfed in a furious political row after stating that a controversial Egyptian dissident was 'welcome' in Britain, despite the emergence of historic social media posts containing violent anti-Semitic rhetoric and hate speech.
Ministers Blindsided by Extremist Comments
The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, acknowledged that old posts by Alaa Abd El-Fattah calling for the murder of Jewish people and police officers, and voicing hatred of white people, were 'abhorrent'. However, No 10 defended its handling of the case, which has triggered calls for the 44-year-old to be stripped of his British citizenship.
El-Fattah, who landed in the UK on Boxing Day after nearly a decade in Egyptian prisons, issued a partial apology as the scandal grew. He claimed some remarks had been 'twisted' but said he was 'unequivocally' sorry for the hurt caused by the 'expressions of a young man's anger'. A spokesman for the Prime Minister described this as a 'fairly fulsome' apology.
Urgent Inquiry Launched into 'Serious Failures'
The Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has ordered an urgent investigation into what she termed 'serious information failures' within the Foreign Office. Ministers were reportedly blindsided by El-Fattah's extremist online history, even though it had been a matter of public record for years, leading to a human rights prize nomination being rescinded in 2014.
Cooper admitted that background checks had been 'completely inadequate' and expressed regret that tweets from herself and other ministers celebrating his arrival had 'added to the distress felt by Jewish communities in the UK'.
Political Fury and Calls for Deportation
The Conservative opposition branded El-Fattah a 'scumbag' and demanded his deportation. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick accused Sir Keir of continuing to welcome an 'anti-British, anti-white, anti-Semitic extremist'. Tory MP Jack Rankin argued El-Fattah was 'not welcome here' and called for the Home Secretary to use her powers to 'remove him immediately'.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who has referred the comments to counter-terrorism police, pledged to change the law to ease the deportation of dual nationals expressing 'vile and anti-British views'. He accused both Tory and Labour governments of opening the doors to 'evil people'.
Despite the outcry, Downing Street has not deleted Sir Keir's original tweet expressing 'delight' at El-Fattah's arrival. The Prime Minister's spokesman insisted the government welcomes 'the return of a British citizen unfairly detained abroad, as we would in all cases'.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed the social media posts are 'being assessed to determine whether any further police investigation may be required'.
