Sir Keir Starmer is facing criticism for celebrating the return of a British activist from detention in Egypt in light of his past social media posts.
The prime minister said on Friday that he was “delighted” that Alaa Abd El-Fattah had been reunited with his loved ones in the UK.
The sentiment was echoed by cabinet ministers including Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Justice Secretary David Lammy with similar posts.
But shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said Sir Keir’s “endorsement” of Mr Abd El-Fattah showed poor judgment given past social media posts that appear to show “extremist” views “about violence, Jews and the police”.
The Jewish Leadership Council, a charity which represents Jewish organisations across the UK, also criticised the “effusive welcome” from the UK government.
Mr Abd El-Fattah, a British-Egyptian dual national, was detained in Egypt in 2019 and was later sentenced to five years in prison on charges of spreading false news.
His imprisonment was branded a breach of international law by UN investigators and he was freed after being pardoned by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi in September. The Conservatives had also lobbied for his release.
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Mr Abd El-Fattah was a leading voice in Egypt’s 2011 Arab Spring uprising and went on hunger strikes behind bars.
Sir Keir wrote on X: “I’m delighted that Alaa Abd El-Fattah is back in the UK and has been reunited with his loved ones, who must be feeling profound relief.
“I want to pay tribute to Alaa’s family, and to all those that have worked and campaigned for this moment.
“Alaa’s case has been a top priority for my government since we came to office. I’m grateful to President Sisi for his decision to grant the pardon.”
Shadow justice secretary Mr Jenrick said the remarks constitute a “personal, public endorsement” from the prime minister.
“Given Mr Abd El-Fattah’s record of extremist statements about violence, Jews and the police, it was a serious error of judgment,” he wrote.
Mr Jenrick referred to posts online going back as far as 2010 that appeared to be from Mr Abd El-Fattah’s X account.
They include several posts that appear to call for violence towards “zionists” and the police.
In 2014, his posts on Twitter cost him a nomination for the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize.
The group backing him withdrew the nomination for the human rights award, saying they had discovered a tweet from 2012 in which he called for the murder of Israelis.
In his letter to the prime minister, Mr Jenrick asked him to clarify whether he knew about Mr Abd El-Fattah’s statements before he posted that he was “delighted” at his release.
He asked if Sir Keir would “correct the record” and withdraw the “unalloyed endorsement”.
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He said: “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.”
The Jewish Leadership Council also voiced concerns in the wake of recent antisemitic attacks in Manchester and at Australia’s Bondi Beach.
The council said: “We are appalled by the effusive welcome Alaa Abd El-Fattah has received from the UK government.
“The prime minister recently reiterated his determination to root out antisemitism from our country but has now shared his delight that someone who has advocated for killing Zionists has arrived in the UK.
“We know from Heaton Park, Manchester and Bondi Beach that there are those who hear such words as a call to action.
“The government has celebrated Mr Abd El-Fattah’s arrival as a victory, British Jews will see it as yet another reminder of the danger we face.”
A Foreign Office spokesperson 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.”
