Alaa Abd el-Fattah ‘Will Not Be Stripped of British Citizenship’ over Past Tweets

THE GUARDIAN: Government sources say social media posts by British-Egyptian activist do not meet legal bar for such sanction

The Home Office will not strip the British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah of his citizenship because his “abhorrent” past social media posts do not meet the legal bar for such a sanction, government sources have said.

Abd el-Fattah, who landed in London from Egypt on Boxing Day, has been at the centre of a political storm over social media posts he published more than a decade ago, including tweets in which he called for Zionists to be killed.

Keir Starmer said he was “delighted” by Abd el-Fattah’s arrival on Friday after the British government helped secure the activist’s release from years in an Egyptian jail. However, the prime minister has since condemned the tweets and said he was unaware of them.

Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, has also launched a review looking into “serious information failures” around the case, after successive Tory and Labour governments had lobbied for Abd el-Fattah’s release as a political prisoner.

The activist, who was granted British citizenship while in prison in 2021 through his mother’s birth in the UK, has apologised “unequivocally” for his posts after opposition parties called for him to be deported and his citizenship revoked. » | Rowena Mason, Whitehall editor | Tuesday, December 30, 2026

Related videos here and here.

Government to Review 'Information Failures' in British-Egyptian Activist Case

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.

Starmer Criticised for Celebrating Activist's Return from Egypt: 'This Is a Complete Disgrace'

Dec 28, 2025 | Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for celebrating the return of a British activist from detention in Egypt in light of his past social media posts.

The prime minister said on Friday that he was "delighted" that Alaa Abd El-Fattah had been reunited with his loved ones in the UK.

Historic posts have since emerged of Mr Abd El-Fattah calling for Zionists to be killed. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has now told Sky News, the prime minister's actions are a "complete disgrace". He added: "This man should not be in the UK and the prime minister of all people should not be out there welcoming him. He's a dangerous individual and it shames our country that we've expended political capital to get him brought here."

Egyptian Dissident Should Be Deported from UK, Conservatives Say | BBC News

Dec 28, 2025 | The Conservative Party has called for an Egyptian activist to be deported from the UK and for his British citizenship to be revoked.

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said Alaa Abdel Fattah should "be made to live in Egypt or frankly anywhere else in the world" after social media messages emerged of him calling for Zionists to be killed.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for being "delighted" at Fattah's arrival, but it is understood he was unaware of the messages before this week. The Foreign Office said it had been "a long-standing priority under successive governments" to work for Fattah's release and see him reunited with his family in the UK, but condemned his "abhorrent" posts.

British-Egyptian Activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah to Be Freed from Prison

THE GUARDIAN: Reports say writer, who has served six years for liking a Facebook post, has also been given a presidential pardon

The British-Egyptian human rights activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah will be released from jail after serving six years for liking a Facebook post, Egyptian state media have reported.

Egypt’s president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, granted him his freedom after intensive lobbying by the UK government and pressure from Egypt’s national human rights council.

The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, is known to have telephoned Sisi three times to lobby for Abd el-Fattah’s release. His national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, also called for his release as did the former foreign secretary David Lammy. It appears a growing warmth in British-Egyptian official relations – including over how to handle the Palestine question – may have played a role in the president’s decision.

Abd el-Fattah’s 69-year-old mother, Laila Soueif, has been admitted to hospital in London twice after going on hunger strikes to try to secure his release. The prominent activist and maths professor also held vigils outside the Foreign Office and Downing Street, saying she was prepared to die to achieve her son’s release. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Monday, September 22, 2025

"A Near-death Experience": UK-Egyptian Activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah Nearly Dies on Hunger Strike

Nov 18, 2022 | The family of imprisoned British Egyptian human rights activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah visited him on Thursday for the first time since he ended his full hunger and water strike, which they say occurred after he collapsed inside his prison shower last week. El-Fattah had intensified his strike on the first day of the U.N. climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh to draw international attention to the country's human rights violations and protest his seemingly indefinite imprisonment. We go to Cairo to speak with his aunt, Ahdaf Soueif, who was among the visitors and says El-Fattah may resume his hunger strike if the British government does not more aggressively demand his release. "It really breaks my heart to think of him going back on hunger strike when he is so thin and so weak," but the campaign so far "has left no one in any doubt that Alaa should be free," she says.

World leaders at Cop27 Urged to Press Egypt over Prisoner Alaa Abd el-Fattah

THE GUARDIAN: Global spotlight on host country has heightened scrutiny of human rights record, with Biden due to meet Sisi

An Amnesty International protest about Egyptian human rights, in Rome this week. Photograph: Riccardo Antimiani/Ansa/Zuma/Rex/Shutterstock
As Egyptian officials strive to control the narrative and isolate the case of the detained British Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, pressure is mounting on world leaders at Cop27 to acknowledge Egypt’s poor human rights record and raise his case.

The Egyptian authorities have engaged in a sweeping public relations campaign to try to discredit Abd el-Fattah, including a digital campaign depicting him as a threat to national security.

A visibly shaken Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s foreign minister and Cop27 president, told CNN that “this is a judicial matter, the person in question has had a fair trial … there should be respect for the judicial system.” Shoukry also cast doubt on Abd el-Fattah’s dual nationality, after he gained British citizenship while in prison last year. » | Ruth Michaelson | Friday, November 11, 2022

Related articles in French and English here.