British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing criticism following his public welcome of Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, who recently returned to the UK after being released from prison in Egypt. The controversy stems from resurfaced social media posts attributed to Abd El-Fattah, containing language interpreted as inciting violence against “Zionists.”
Several British Jewish organizations and opposition figures have condemned Starmer’s reception of the activist. The Board of Deputies of British Jews expressed “grave concerns” regarding Abd El-Fattah’s past statements, characterizing them as “extremist and violent rhetoric targeting Zionists and, more broadly, white people, posing a threat to British Jews and the wider public.”
Conservative Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has called for Abd El-Fattah’s British citizenship to be revoked and for his deportation. Starmer had previously lauded Abd El-Fattah’s return to Britain, stating that his case had been an “absolute priority” for the government since he assumed office in July 2024.
However, the resurfacing of tweets from 2010, in which Abd El-Fattah allegedly called for “killing Zionists,” prompted swift condemnation from the British government. A Foreign Office spokesperson stated that the government “condemns the previous tweets by Abd El-Fattah and considers them abhorrent,” adding that “successive governments have long prioritized his release and return to his family in the UK.”
Abd El-Fattah returned to the UK on Friday, having obtained British citizenship in 2022 through his mother, Laila Soueif, a prominent figure in Egypt’s left-wing intellectual circles, while he was incarcerated. He was released in September following a presidential pardon after serving years in prison. His family, human rights organizations, and the British government had consistently campaigned for his release, with his mother, Laila Soueif, even staging a hunger strike. A Cairo criminal court had also ordered his removal from a list of terrorist entities in July, according to a court decision.
