Campaigner recently released from prison makes statement after PM’s support is questioned by Tory MPs
Alaa Abd el-Fattah, the British-Egyptian human rights campaigner, has apologised unreservedly for what he accepted were shocking and hurtful tweets that he wrote more than 10 years ago in what he described as heated online battles.
He said he was shaken by the criticism that has rained down on him since the tweets were highlighted by shadow ministers challenging Keir Starmer’s support for him since he was released by the Egyptian government to travel to the UK after his release from more than 10 years in prison.
There have been calls for Abd el-Fattah’s British citizenship – granted by a Conservative government in 2021 – to be revoked, while within Labour ranks there is regret that more was not done to check on his past.
In a statement issued in the early hours of Monday morning, after a day of frantic consultations, he wrote: “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.
