Thanks for the link TerriBull which I had not seen as I am not a generally a Daily Mail reader.
I noted that Nigel Farage said in the DM article " No mention of these tweets in The BBC News story either". So I went and checked The BBC News article online, and he was wrong- The BBC did in fact mention the tweets ( so fake news from Mr Farage....). The BBC article provided more factual background giving context as follows.
Mr Fattah spent 12 years in prison in Egypt as a political prisoner on charges of "spreading fake news" after sharing Facebook posts about torture in Egyptian prisons. The UN investigated and found his conviction a breach of international law. Whilst in prison Fattah was nominated in 2014 for a European Human Rights award but that was withdrawn over tweets he had made about Israel previously posted in 2012.
Fattah was released from prison in September this year after a presidential pardon and recently has returned to the UK to be reunited with his mother and son.
The previous Conservative Government, of which Badenoch and Jenryk were members, lobbied long and hard for Fattah's release. The former Conservative Prime minster, Sir Ian Duncum Smith, signed a CROSS PARTY petition in December 2024, urging the Labour government to continue efforts to secure Fattah's release. Both Jenryk and Badenoch failed to mention their Conservative government's efforts to secure Fattah's release in the DM article.
Only today 28 December, a day AFTER yesterdays DM article, has Ian Duncan Smith issued a statement:" I do however regret signing the letter calling for the release of Alaa And el-Fattah given his views have SINCE come to light...".
The DM article also sought a quote from Nigel Farage on the matter. He promptly took the opportunity to undermine the current government for supporting someone who tweets race hate. Farage also sought to undermine the BBC (falsely it has to be said) for failing to mention the historical tweets. Farage also failed to mention his knowledge of previous CROSS PARTY December 2024 petition urging Starmer to continue lobbying for Fattah's release following on from the Conservative Government's efforts to date.
The previous Conservative government said at the time Fattah " is a British citizen. It has been our long standing priority to secure his release". The Conservation campaign for his release was supported by many celebrities, including Judi Dench and Olivia Coleman.
It is of interest that Farage gave centre stage to Lucy Connelly at his recent Reform UK conference after she was released from prison after pleading guilty to inciting race hate on line. Farage said she should not have been put in prison for race hate posts- he is an avid supporter of free speech. POT- Kettle comes to mind?
According to The BBC, Keith Starmer was not aware of the 2012 historical tweets when he made his comments- seemingly it appears neither was Ian Duncan Smith, Robert Jenryk, Badenoch or Farage until past few days.....
Will the DM report any further facts on the matter now The BBC has unearthed more facts and background context? Or will it choose instead to let the story stand for its readers?
.