Yvette Cooper has ordered a review into what she described as “serious information failures” surrounding the case of British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, who was welcomed to the UK despite past tweets now deemed “abhorrent” by the government. The Foreign Secretary wrote to MPs on Monday night, stating that due diligence procedures had been “completely inadequate for this situation”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had said he was “delighted” by Abd el-Fattah’s arrival on Boxing Day, but a political storm erupted after social media posts from a decade ago resurfaced, including one in which the activist called for Zionists to be killed. Abd el-Fattah has since apologised “unequivocally” for the posts, but faced fresh criticism after his official Facebook account appeared to have liked a post suggesting a “Zionist campaign” against him.
In a letter to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Cooper said she had asked the Foreign Office’s top civil servant “to review the serious information failures in this case” and the systems in place for high-profile consular cases. Downing Street defended the campaign for Abd el-Fattah’s release, with the Prime Minister’s spokesperson stating: “We welcome the return of a British citizen unfairly detained abroad… It doesn’t change the fact that we have condemned the nature of these historic tweets and we consider them to be abhorrent.”
The Conservatives and Reform UK have called for Abd el-Fattah to be deported and his citizenship revoked, but government sources indicated he was eligible for British citizenship through his mother without character checks, and case law suggests no grounds for removal. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick posted on X: “Get this disgusting man out of our country now.” However, Labour MP Emily Thornberry urged a measured response, noting that sending him back to Egypt could lead to imprisonment for his human rights activism.
