Keir Starmer 'regrets' tweet welcoming return of freed activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah - The Mirror

Keir Starmer expressed frustration that he had not been made aware of 'abhorrent' posts by Alaa Abd el-Fattah but declined to apologise for his welcome during a BBC grilling

Keir Starmer has said he regrets saying he was “delighted” that democracy activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah had returned to Britain after shocking social media posts resurfaced.

The PM expressed frustration that he had not been made aware of "abhorrent" posts by the British-Egyptian dual national, as far back as 2010, when he appeared to call for violence against Zionists and the police.

Mr El-Fattah, who was a key voice in the Arab Spring protests, arrived in the UK on Boxing Day after a travel ban was lifted following his release from prison. He has apologised for the comments but Tory and Reform politicians have called for his citizenship to be stripped. It is understood there are no plans for this to happen.

Last week, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper ordered a review into "serious information failures" which meant senior politicians and civil servants were unaware of the posts.

Repeatedly asked whether he would like to apologise, Mr Starmer told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: "Of course I regret that, and your point that somebody in Government should have known is one I've made myself to the appropriate team, because I do think I should have been made aware, and I wasn't made aware.

"And that is why we are carrying out a review, but to meet your challenge, yes it's a failing within the system. It shouldn't have happened, and I wasn't very pleased about it when I found out, hence, we're taking remedial action."

Mr El-Fattah was granted UK citizenship in December 2021 under the-then PM Boris Johnson. His imprisonment for charges of spreading false news was branded a breach of international law by UN investigators, and he was pardoned by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi in September after years of lobbying by both Conservative and Labour governments.

He flew to the UK on December 26 and was reunited with his son, who lives in Brighton.

Mr El-Fattah has apologised, saying he understands "how shocking and hurtful" his previous comments were. In a statement, he 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."

Downing Street described the posts as "abhorrent" but said his apology was "fairly fulsome". Last week, the PM's official spokesman said: "We welcome the return of a British citizen unfairly detained abroad, as we would in all cases and as we have done in the past. That is central to Britain's commitment to religious and political freedom.

"That said, it doesn't change the fact that we have condemned the nature of these historic tweets and we consider them to be abhorrent, and we've been very clear about that."