UK Government Reviews Handling of Activist’s Controversial Posts

The U.K. government has initiated a review following the emergence of controversial social media posts made by British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper announced on Monday that there were “serious information failures” that resulted in ministers being unaware of Abd El-Fattah’s previous comments, which were described as “abhorrent.”

Abd El-Fattah, who was released from prison in Egypt after extensive campaigns by successive British governments, returned to the U.K. last week. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, expressing satisfaction with Abd El-Fattah’s release, emphasized that securing his freedom has been a “top priority” for his administration since taking office. However, the situation turned contentious when old social media posts surfaced, in which Abd El-Fattah expressed views that included considering “killing any colonialists and especially Zionists heroic,” while also derogatorily referring to British people as “dogs and monkeys.”

In a letter addressed to a U.K. parliamentary committee, Cooper stated that she, Starmer, and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy were “unaware” of these historic tweets. She characterized them as “abhorrent” and confirmed that current and former ministers had not been briefed about the posts when publicly discussing Abd El-Fattah’s case. Civil servants tasked with handling the case were also uninformed about the tweets, which has raised significant concerns regarding the government’s due diligence practices.

Cooper expressed her “deep concern” regarding the impact of the resurfacing posts, noting that they had “added to the distress felt by Jewish communities in the UK.” She acknowledged that there had been an “unacceptable failure” in how the situation was managed, stating that the long-standing procedures for due diligence were “completely inadequate” for this scenario.

In response to the fallout, a senior civil servant from the Foreign Office has been assigned to conduct a thorough review of the “serious information failures” in this case. The review will also assess the broader systems in place for handling high-profile consular and human rights matters to ensure they operate effectively in the future.

Alaa Abd El-Fattah was convicted in Egypt in 2021 for “spreading fake news” after he shared a Facebook post detailing allegations of torture in the country. He was granted British citizenship in December 2021 through his mother, who was born in London. Following the recent controversy, political figures from the opposition, including the Conservatives and Nigel Farage‘s Reform UK, have called for Abd El-Fattah to be stripped of his U.K. citizenship and deported.

As the government navigates this sensitive situation, the implications for its handling of human rights cases and the relationship with various communities in the U.K. remain a critical focus. The outcome of the review will likely influence future policies and approaches to similar cases.