"The prime minister said he was "delighted" to hear the activist had landed in the UK to be reunited with family and said his case had long been a "top priority" for the government. But Jenrick said Sir Keir's remarks were a "serious error of judgement", as he highlighted a number of Mr Abdel Fattah's messages from over a decade ago that endorsed the killing of "Zionists" and "police"."
"Cabinet ministers including Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Justice Secretary David Lammy also published similar posts of support after Abdel Fattah's return. The Jewish Leadership Council, a charity representing Jewish organisations across the UK, criticised what it described as an "effusive welcome" from the UK government. The BBC understands the activist's messages had not been brought to attention of the prime minister until they were highlighted in recent days - and the government considers them to be abhorrent."
"BBC Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick has criticised Sir Keir Starmer for welcoming the arrival of an Egyptian pro-democracy activist to the UK - after historical social media messages emerged showing the campaigner apparently calling for Zionists to be killed. Alaa Abdel Fattah, who is a dual British national, left Egypt earlier this week after being released from prison following a presidential pardon. He was convicted in 2021 of "spreading fake news" after sharing a Facebook post about torture in the country."
Alaa Abdel Fattah, a dual British national and Egyptian pro-democracy activist, left Egypt after a presidential pardon and arrived in the UK to join family. He was convicted in 2021 of 'spreading fake news' for sharing a Facebook post about torture. The prime minister said he was 'delighted' and called Abdel Fattah's case a 'top priority.' Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick criticised the prime minister for publicly welcoming someone whose historical social media messages apparently endorsed killing 'Zionists' and 'police.' Several cabinet ministers posted support, while the Jewish Leadership Council criticised the government's 'effusive welcome.' The government views the activist's past messages as abhorrent.
Read at www.bbc.com
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