Downing Street has robustly defended its high-profile campaign to secure the release of British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah and its subsequent decision to welcome him to the United Kingdom, despite the emergence of what it termed "abhorrent" social media posts he made over a decade ago.
Political Storm Over Historic Social Media Posts
The activist, who arrived in London on Boxing Day following successful government negotiations with Egyptian authorities, issued an unequivocal apology for the posts. This came after opposition parties demanded his deportation and the revocation of his British citizenship, granted in 2021.
Abd el-Fattah spent nearly ten years in Egyptian prisons for his political beliefs, including his opposition to the treatment of dissidents. His case was championed by successive Conservative and Labour governments. While Labour leader Keir Starmer said he was "delighted" by the activist's arrival last Friday, a political controversy swiftly ignited when past tweets resurfaced.
Among the unearthed posts, from around 2010-2012, Abd el-Fattah had called for Zionists to be killed, described himself as racist against white people, made derogatory remarks about the British, and called for violence against police.
Government and Cross-Party Response
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister stated: "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. That is central to Britain’s commitment to religious and political freedom. It doesn’t change the fact that we have condemned the nature of these historic tweets and we consider them to be abhorrent."
Downing Street confirmed that Starmer had not been aware of the historical tweets until after Abd el-Fattah had entered the UK. The case has prompted questions about the vetting process before he was granted citizenship and the research undertaken by the government before advocating for his release with Egyptian authorities—a cause taken up by former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
Government sources indicated that Abd el-Fattah was eligible for British citizenship through his mother, which may have bypassed standard character checks. The Foreign Office is now reviewing issues raised by the handling of the case.
Calls for Sanctions and Appeals for Context
The Conservatives and Reform UK have suggested he should be removed from the UK and stripped of his citizenship, though legal grounds for such actions appear absent. Other MPs condemned the posts but advocated for a more measured response.
Emily Thornberry, Labour chair of the foreign affairs select committee, expressed disappointment in the tweets but argued against revoking his nationality, noting his decade-long imprisonment in Egypt for campaigning for human rights. She warned that he must stay within UK law regarding incitement to hatred.
Labour MP John McDonnell described the posts as the product of a "furious young man" angered by regional conflicts and police brutality, highlighting Abd el-Fattah's subsequent journey to becoming a respected advocate for human rights and dignity for all.
In his apology, Abd el-Fattah stated he understood "how shocking and hurtful" his comments were, attributing them to the anger of a young man during a period of regional wars and crisis. He stressed he takes accusations of antisemitism seriously and has always stood against sectarianism and racism.
Dan Dolan of Reprieve warned that suggesting citizenship be stripped for social media posts was "authoritarian overreach of the worst kind." Alaa Abd el-Fattah was a prominent figure in Egypt's 2011 Arab Spring and undertook hunger strikes while imprisoned.
