Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for welcoming the arrival of Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah to the UK – after historical social media messages emerged showing the campaigner apparently calling for Zionists to be killed.The dual British national left Egypt this week after being freed from prison. He was convicted in 2021 of “spreading fake news” after sharing a Facebook post about torture in the country.The prime minister said he was “delighted” to hear the activist had landed in the UK to be reunited with family.But shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said Sir Keir’s remarks were a “serious error of judgement”.Jenrick highlighted Abdel Fattah’s messages that endorsed the killing of Zionists and police, and added the prime minister’s message amounted to a “personal, public endorsement” of the activist.”Nobody should be imprisoned arbitrarily, nor for peaceful dissent. But neither should the prime minister place the authority of his office behind someone whose own words cross into the language of racism and bloodshed,” he said in a letter.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. Abdel Fattah’s release in Septe …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnSir Keir Starmer has been criticised for welcoming the arrival of Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah to the UK – after historical social media messages emerged showing the campaigner apparently calling for Zionists to be killed.The dual British national left Egypt this week after being freed from prison. He was convicted in 2021 of “spreading fake news” after sharing a Facebook post about torture in the country.The prime minister said he was “delighted” to hear the activist had landed in the UK to be reunited with family.But shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said Sir Keir’s remarks were a “serious error of judgement”.Jenrick highlighted Abdel Fattah’s messages that endorsed the killing of Zionists and police, and added the prime minister’s message amounted to a “personal, public endorsement” of the activist.”Nobody should be imprisoned arbitrarily, nor for peaceful dissent. But neither should the prime minister place the authority of his office behind someone whose own words cross into the language of racism and bloodshed,” he said in a letter.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. Abdel Fattah’s release in Septe …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
