Robert Jenrick blasts El-Fattah for ‘scripted and fake’ apology and demands his removal from Britain

He criticised the activist for making a apology on UK social media while simultaneously endorsing contradictory posts on Arabic-language platforms.

Speaking to The People's Channel, Mr Jenrick said: "He was liking posts that people had made, in which they presented him as the victim of a Zionist conspiracy, claiming that Jews, billionaires, and all the usual tropes were involved to blacken his name and that he was actually innocent.

"That doesn’t suggest that this man is in any way repentant for his actions.

"It suggests that the apology he put out in the UK was insincere, scripted, and fake. In reality, he stands by the extremist and anti-Semitic comments he made in the past.

"It all paints a picture that this man needs to be removed from our country because he is not conducive to the public good.

"Another important point, Tom, is that while it’s obviously crucial to highlight that he is an anti-Semite, he also posted a load of content saying that he hated white people and Brits.

"He said that Brits were dogs and monkeys. When Keir Starmer tweeted yesterday, he distanced himself from the anti-Semitism and homophobia, but he did not address the comments about white or British people, as if it were somehow acceptable to have someone in our country who wanted to attack them.

"I think that is an astonishing sentiment from the British Prime Minister."

Mr Abd El-Fattah was flown to the UK from Egypt on Boxing Day, with several ministers issuing celebratory statements to welcome him to Britain.

However, that reception quickly soured after a series of past social media posts, later described as “abhorrent” by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, resurfaced.

In a late-night statement, the activist acknowledged he “should have known better” but said he had been left “shaken” by the backlash triggered by his own remarks.

"I am shaken that, just as I am being reunited with my family for the first time in 12 years, several historic tweets of mine have been republished and used to question and attack my integrity and values, escalating to calls for the revocation of my citizenship," he said.

"Looking at the tweets now - the ones that were not completely twisted out of their meaning - I do understand how shocking and hurtful they are, and for that I unequivocally apologise.

"They were mostly expressions of a young man's anger and frustrations in a time of regional crises (the wars on Iraq, on Lebanon and Gaza), and the rise of police brutality against Egyptian youth.

"I particularly regret some that were written as part of online insult battles with the total disregard for how they read to other people.

“I should have known better,” he said.

The posts included remarks that appeared to call for violence against Zionists, described British people as “dogs and monkeys”, and suggested police officers should be killed. He has also been accused of voicing support for suicide bombings.

Mr Abd el-Fattah was detained in Egypt in September 2019 and later sentenced in December 2021 to five years in prison on charges of spreading false news.

During his imprisonment, a wide coalition of activists, politicians and celebrities campaigned for him to be brought to the UK.

The Prime Minister previously described securing his transfer to Britain as a “top priority”.

Mr Jenrick added: "He was liking posts which people had made, where they were presenting him as the victim of this, presenting him as the victim of a Zionist conspiracy, saying that Jews and billionaires and all the usual tropes were involved to blacken his name and that he was actually innocent.

"That doesn't suggest that this man is in any way repentant for his actions. It suggests that the apology that he put out in the UK was insincere and scripted and fake.

"And in reality, he stands by the extremist and the anti-Semitic comments that he made in the past.

"It all presents the picture that this man needs to be removed from our country because he's not conducive to the public good here."

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