Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has lashed out at Kemi Badenoch after Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah arrived in the UK following years of imprisonment.
Mr Fattah, who was detained in Egypt in September 2019 and sentenced to five years in prison in December 2021 for allegedly spreading false news, was granted UK citizenship in December 2021 under Boris Johnson.
The 44-year-old was handed citizenship through his UK-born mother, arriving in British last week.
However, Mr Farage’s fury comes after Mr Fattah’s allegedly antisemitic social media posts resurfaced.
The Egyptian activist appeared to call for the murder of Zionists and admitted he “seriously hate[s] white people”.
However, the Tory Party’s role in handing him citizenship prompted Mr Farage to point the finger at Mrs Badenoch.
He said: Why did the Government that Kemi Badenoch was part of grant this awful man citizenship in the first place?”
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss was among those looking to secure Mr Fattah’s release from prison when she served as Foreign Secretary.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has lashed out at Kemi Badenoch after Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah arrived in the UK following years of imprisonment.
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PA
Some top Tories have since apologised for campaigning on Mr Fattah’s behalf, including Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Alicia Kearns.
Despite Mr Farage’s comments, Mrs Badenoch also called for the deportation of the Egyptian dissident.
“The comments he made on social media about violence against Jews, white people and the police among others are disgusting and abhorrent – they were also anti-British,” she said.
“British citizenship is more than a passport. Our country is our home, not a hotel.”
Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah has issued a grovelling apology for his social media posts | GETTY
Mr Fattah was also forced to issue a grovelling apology after his social media posts resurfaced.
“‘I am shaken that, just as I am being reunited with my family for the first time in 12 years, several historic tweets of mine have been republished and used to question and attack my integrity and values, escalating to calls for the revocation of my citizenship,” the 44-year-old said.
‘Looking at the tweets now – the ones that were not completely twisted out of their meaning – I do understand how shocking and hurtful they are, and for that I unequivocally apologise.”
However, Sir Keir Starmer welcomed Fattah’s arrival in the UK over the weekend.
The Leader of the Opposition came under fire for the Tory Party’s role
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GETTY“I want to pay tribute to Alaa’s family and to all those that have worked and campaigned for this moment,” the Prime Minister said.
“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.”
Mr Farage has since written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, putting pressure on the Labour Government to deport the Egyptian activist.
He wrote: “It should go without saying that anyone who possesses racist and anti-British views such as those of Mr Fattah should not be allowed into the UK.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the Egyptian activist’s arrival
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PA“As Home Secretary, it is within your power to revoke his citizenship and order his deportation. I strongly urge you to do so.”
Downing Street yesterday revealed Sir Keir had been unaware of the “abhorrent” views expressed by Mr Fattah when he publicly welcomed him to Britain.
The Prime Minister is understood to have been alerted to the “extremist” social media posts only after they began widely circulating online.
Meanwhile, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called for Fattah’s removal, labelling the activist a “scumbag”.