Britain’s Labour government has ordered an internal review into what it has admitted were serious failures of vetting and information handling in the case of Alaa Abd El-Fattah, a British-Egyptian man whose return to the UK has sparked a fierce political backlash.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said that senior ministers, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, were unaware of a series of historic social media posts in which Abd El-Fattah praised violence, called for the killing of “Zionists,” and expressed hostility towards police and white people. The posts resurfaced shortly after Starmer publicly welcomed his arrival in Britain, saying he was “delighted” Abd El-Fattah had been reunited with his family after more than a decade behind bars in Egypt.

The revelations triggered immediate criticism from Reform UK and the Conservatives, who argued that the government should never have publicly celebrated Abd El-Fattah’s return without proper background checks. MPs accused Labour of recklessness and renewed calls for his British citizenship to be revoked, warning that Britain risks appearing indifferent to extremist rhetoric under the banner of human rights campaigning.

Abd El-Fattah, 44, apologised on Monday, describing the posts as “shocking and hurtful” and blaming them on anger during a turbulent period more than a decade ago. Yet just hours later, claims circulated on social media—liked by an account linked to him—that the controversy was driven by a “Zionist campaign,” undercutting the apology and deepening concern within the Jewish community.

In a letter to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Cooper acknowledged that longstanding due-diligence procedures had been “completely inadequate” in this case. She said neither current nor former ministers, nor the civil servants managing the file, had been briefed on the tweets before making public statements supporting Abd El-Fattah’s release and return. A senior civil servant has now been tasked with reviewing how high-profile consular and human-rights cases are vetted across the Foreign Office.

Abd El-Fattah was granted British citizenship in 2021 while imprisoned in Egypt, through his London-born mother. He had been serving a five-year sentence for “spreading false news” after criticising prison conditions—charges widely condemned by international human-rights NGOs. His release earlier this year followed a presidential pardon after sustained lobbying by both Conservative and Labour governments.

Despite mounting political pressure, ministers insist there is little they can do to block his entry or revoke his citizenship. Such action generally requires proof of fraud or a serious national security threat—thresholds officials believe are unlikely to be met.

However, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has vowed to change the law, accusing both main parties of “opening our doors to evil people” and promising new powers to strip citizenship from dual nationals who express extremist views.

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