Starmer slammed for celebrating British activist’s release from Egyptian prison

Sir Keir Starmer is facing criticism for saying he was ‘delighted’ by the release of a British democracy activist who was being held in an Egyptian jail.

Alaa Abd El-Fattah was freed from detention in September, and the Prime Minister confirmed he had been reunited with his family in Brighton on Friday.

A leading voice in the 2011 Arab Spring in Egypt, he had spent much of the past 12 years in jail – four of which came after his 2021 sentencing for ‘spreading false news’.

But following his return to the UK, a top Jewish group and shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick have raised concerns about comments he made in the past.

On Friday, the PM posted on X: ‘I’m delighted that Alaa Abd El-Fattah is back in the UK and has been reunited with his loved ones, who must be feeling profound relief.

‘I want to pay tribute to Alaa’s family, and to all those that have worked and campaigned for this moment.

‘Alaa’s case has been a top priority for my government since we came to office. I’m grateful to President Sisi for his decision to grant the pardon.’

Jenrick suggested this message amounted to an ‘endorsement’ of Mr Abd El-Fattah’s ‘extremist’ views.

In a letter to Sir Keir, he wrote: ‘Given Mr Abd El-Fattah’s record of extremist statements about violence, Jews and the police, [the post] was a serious error of judgment.’

The Conservative MP pointed to posts supposedly written by the activist in 2011, in which he called for violent resistance to the police, and others where he is said to have endorsed killing ‘Zionists’.

A statement from the Foreign Office described the ‘historic tweets’ as abhorrent, but added that Mr Abd El-Fattah’s release had been a ‘long-standing priority under successive governments.’

In a later appearance on GB News, Jenrick said he should be ‘made to live in Egypt or frankly anywhere else in the world other than the UK’.

Meanwhile, the Jewish Leadership Council – which represents a number of British Jewish organisations – said it was ‘appalled’ by the ‘effusive welcome’ Mr Abd El-Fattah received.

In a statement, it said: ‘The Prime Minister recently reiterated his determination to root out antisemitism from our country but has now shared his delight that someone who has advocated for killing Zionists has arrived in the UK.

‘We know from Heaton Park [in] Manchester and Bondi Beach that there are those who hear such words as a call to action.’

Mr Abd El-Fattah became a British citizen during his most recent spell in prison, qualifying through his mother Laila Soueif who was born in the UK.

He previously received a nomination for the Sakharov Prize for human rights activism, but it was withdrawn amid controversy over remarks he had made about Israel.

The previous Conservative government had also called for the release of the activist, whose 14-year-old son lives in Brighton and attends a special educational needs school.

However, attention was focused on his case after the last election when his mother began an eight-month hunger strike.

Sir Keir and his national security advisor Jonathan Powell are understood to have directly pressured the Egyptian government for Mr Abd El-Fattah’s release.

He was finally freed in autumn after receiving a presidential pardon, but spent several months negotiating a travel arrangement which would allow him to travel between Egypt and the UK.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: ‘Mr El-Fattah is a British citizen.

‘It has been a long-standing priority under successive governments to work for his release from detention, and to see him reunited with his family in the UK.’

‘The Government condemns Mr El-Fattah’s historic tweets and considers them to be abhorrent.’

Metro has contacted spokespeople for Mr Abd El-Fattah.

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