Alaa Abd el-Fattah

Lord Marlesford Excerpts

Wednesday 4th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Altmann (Non-Afl)]

My Lords—

[Lord Marlesford (Con)]

My Lords—

[Captain of the King’s Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard and Deputy Chief Whip (Baroness Wheeler) (Lab)]

My Lords, can we hear from the noble Baroness, please?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I repeat to the noble Baroness that these things are a judgement call. I reassure her and the House that we have kept the family constantly informed of our efforts, and certainly we will continue to do so. It is our hope and determination to see his early release.

[Lord Marlesford (Con)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a former co-chair of the APPG on Egypt. What grounds do the Egyptian Government give for refusing diplomatic access to Mr el-Fattah, whether it be from the embassy or consular, while he has been in prison? Has the Foreign Office assembled, found or heard any information that has satisfied it as to whether there has been any ill-treatment of Mr el-Fattah while he has been in prison?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I hope I have reassured the House that, while the Egyptian authorities do not recognise his British nationality and therefore our consular staff have not been able to see him in prison, we have remained in constant touch with his lawyer and his family, and through his lawyer we are able to determine his current status. The important thing that we have done to support the family is keeping them informed of what we are doing, while focusing very strongly on the highest level of bilateral relations.