Keir Starmer 'delighted' over release of Egyptian-British prisoner who called for mass murder of Israelis

Earlier this year, Mr Abd El-Fattah, 44, was pardoned by the Egyptian government after spending most of the past 12 years in jail on charges of spreading “fake news”.

He became a prominent pro-democracy campaigner and blogger during the Egyptian Uprising of 2011 leading to the ousting of former president Hosni Mubarak.

Mr Abd El-Fattah has British citizenship through his mother Laila Soueif, a London-born mathematics professor, who previously went on hunger strike over his case and met Sir Keir to lobby for her son's freedom.

Following the remarks celebrating his return from Labour's top brass, Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick issued a letter castigating the Government for what he called a “serious error of judgment”.

The senior Conservative MP pointed to Sir Keir’s recent pledge to “eradicate antisemitism in the UK” following the Bondi Beach terror attack in Australia, in which 15 people were killed.

He wrote: “Yesterday you said you were 'delighted' that Alaa Abd El-Fattah is back in this country, described his case as a ‘top priority’ for your Government, and thanked President Sisi for granting a pardon. That was not quiet consular support. It was a personal, public endorsement from the Prime Minister. Given Mr Abd El-Fattah’s record of extremist statements... it was a serious error of judgement."

Justifying his allegations, Mr Jenrick referred to a previous incident in which Mr Abd El-Fattah's nomination for the Sakharov Prize, a human rights title awarded by the European Parliament, was revoked by a coalition of left-wing parties.

According to The Times of Israel, Mr Abd El-Fattah wrote on November 15, 2012 “there is a critical number of Israelis that we need to kill and then the (Palestine) problem is solved".

The following day, he wrote: “There should be no equal relations with Israel or any other relations. Israel must come to an end.”

Gabi Zimmer, the then-president of the European United Left–Nordic Green Left group, said in 2014: “It emerges that one of the bloggers we proposed, Alaa Abdel Fatah who was a victim of repression in Egypt and jailed several times, called for the murder ‘of a critical number of Israelis’ in a tweet in 2012. We did not avail of this information when we put forward his candidacy."

Continuing his letter to the PM, Mr Jenrick wrote: “The timing could scarcely be worse. You chose to welcome him (Mr Abd El-Fattah) publicly just days after the terrorist attack at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach and weeks after the horrific attack at Heaton Park synagogue, when Jewish communities here and abroad are understandably deeply worried and looking to you for leadership on extremism."

He asked Sir Keir: “Did you know about these statements before you issued your ‘delighted' message?”

Mr Jenrick also asked the Labour leader if he would condemn the alleged remarks and redouble commitments to oppose such rhetoric.

Mr Abd El-Fattah's release from Wadi el-Natrun prison near Sadat City was secured in September after a long campaign by his family, with the backing of celebrities such as Dame Judi Dench and Olivia Colman.

Reacting to his return to the UK, Sir Keir wrote 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."

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy commented: “Delighted that Alaa Abd El-Fattah has been reunited with his family in the UK. I thank the Government of Egypt for this outcome. I first met Alaa’s family in Opposition, and I committed to them then that I would do everything I could to advocate for his return. It’s an immense relief that this has now happened."

In another similar message, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper penned: “I’m delighted that Alaa Abd El-Fattah has arrived in the UK and is with his family. Alaa’s case has been a top priority for our Government and I welcome President Sisi’s granting of this pardon. I pay tribute to Alaa’s family for their tireless determination to be reunited."

A Government spokesman told GB News: “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."’

Mr El-Fattah did not respond to requests for comment about the acceptability of his tweets by an Israeli media outlet (The Times of Israel) in previous reporting

The People's Channel has also approached Mr Abd El-Fattah's representatives for comment.

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