BBC: Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has launched a review into what she calls "serious information failures" in the case of British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El Fattah.
In a letter to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Cooper said she, Sir Keir Starmer and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy "were all unaware" of Mr Abd El Fattah's historical tweets, which they consider to be "abhorrent".
It comes after the Conservatives and Reform UK called for the activist to be stripped of UK citizenship and deported after social media posts emerged in which he called for Zionists to be killed.
Mr Abd El Fattah has apologised, saying he understood "how shocking and hurtful" the posts were.
Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for saying he was "delighted" by Mr Abd El Fattah's arrival in the UK on Friday, three months after the democracy activist was freed from prison in Egypt.
On Monday, Sir Keir said the resurfaced tweets were "absolutely abhorrent" and said the government was "taking steps to review the information failures in this case".
"With the rise of antisemitism, and recent horrific attacks, I know this has added to the distress of many in the Jewish community in the UK," he added. » | Helen Catt, Political correspondent and Ian Aikman | Monday, December 29, 2025. Updated today.
