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Starmer Regrets Welcome for Alaa Abd el-Fattah After Old Posts Emerge

The prime minister says a government review will examine why he was not told about the activist's historical antisemitic posts.

Overview

  • In a BBC interview, Keir Starmer said he regrets declaring he was "delighted" by Alaa Abd el-Fattah's return to Britain.
  • He described not being briefed on the historic posts as a failure in the system and said a review is under way to address it.
  • Downing Street called the posts "abhorrent" and said Abd el-Fattah's apology was "fairly fulsome."
  • Reports say posts from around 2010 included calls to kill Zionists, slurs against British people as "dogs and monkeys," and incitement such as burning Downing Street.
  • Conservative and Reform UK figures have urged stripping his citizenship, but reports indicate no current plans under legal constraints; he became a UK citizen in 2021 and returned after an Egyptian pardon.