Conservatives cannot be trusted on citizenship – Reform UK

Reform UK has said the Conservatives “cannot be trusted”, after the decision to grant Alaa Abd El-Fattah citizenship.

The activist, who was recently released after years of detention in Egypt, previously wrote tweets which appeared to show him calling for violence against Zionists and the police.

He was granted UK citizenship in December 2021 under former Conservative prime minister Boris Johnson, reportedly through his UK-born mother.

Mr Abd El-Fattah has apologised for the posts, saying he understood “how shocking and hurtful” his previous comments were.

But Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp labelled his statement an “insincere apology”, as he called for Shabana Mahmood to strip Mr Abd El-Fattah of his citizenship.

A Reform UK spokesman said: “Alaa Abd El-Fattah was granted British citizenship in 2021 by Boris Johnson’s government. Liz Truss and James Cleverly both personally intervened on his case.

“Kemi Badenoch was minister of state for local government, faith and communities when Alaa Abd El-Fattah was granted citizenship.

“The current Tory shadow national security minister said she was ‘relieved’ this man was pardoned three months ago, and even now says all he must do is ‘apologise’.

“She is still the Tory shadow national security minister. The Tories would let in countless more like him given the chance. The Conservatives cannot be trusted.”

Alicia Kearns wrote on social media site X last September she was “relieved” and added: “His release is long overdue, and I pay tribute to his mother and sister who have fought non-stop to get him free.”

In a post on Sunday, she said campaigners who supported Mr Abd El-Fattah’s release were “plainly were not aware of his grotesque tweets”.

Ms Kearns told her followers she felt “deeply let down and frankly betrayed”.

She continued: “It is wholly improper for British citizens to be detained without due process by foreign states, however, Alaa must unequivocally apologise and make clear he now wholly rejects the hatred and antisemitism he expressed which is so wholly incompatible with British values.”

Mr Philp faced calls on Monday to explain why a previous Conservative government had granted Mr Abd El-Fattah citizenship.

“I don’t know whether ministers at the time were sighted on the individual facts of this case,” he told Times Radio.

“All I can do is speak for what I know today, and that is that if I were home secretary today, I’d be revoking his citizenship and deporting him.”

Mr Abd El-Fattah was imprisoned on charges of spreading false news, in a process branded a breach of international law by UN investigators.

He was pardoned by Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in September following years of lobbying by Conservative and Labour governments, and flew to the UK on Boxing Day.

Since then, the Twitter posts dating from as far back as 2010 have surfaced.

In his statement, Mr Abd El-Fattah said: “I unequivocally apologise.

“(The posts) 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.”

Mr Abd El-Fattah also said: “It has been painful to see some people who supported calls for my release now feel regret for doing so.”

John McDonnell, the Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, raised Mr Abd El-Fattah’s case in Parliament several times during his imprisonment.

In a statement sent to the Press Association, he said: “I thought people supporting the release of Alaa from prison understood his political journey and that’s why they supported him.

“He was a furious young man, angry at the brutality of what he saw around him, especially the plight of the Palestinians.

“His appalling social media interventions were the product of that anger and had been exposed over a decade ago.

“But that’s the point – Alaa’s journey was from someone who could send these vile tweets to becoming an advocate for dignity, respect and human rights for all, a defender of the oppressed and persecuted no matter what their religion, gender or sexuality.

“Clearly people haven’t read his prison writings or followed his struggle to uphold these principles which resulted in him being imprisoned for a decade.

“He won support because his life demonstrated how bitterness and anger can be overcome and a voice for humanity can emerge.

“His voice from his prison cell gave people hope that change could be brought about that could found society on these humanitarian principles.”

A collection of Mr Abd El-Fattah’s writings was published in his 2021 book, You Have Not Yet Been Defeated.

The Foreign Office has previously said: “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.

“The Government condemns Mr El-Fattah’s historic tweets and considers them to be abhorrent.”