Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many times have Ministers, officials or Cairo Embassy staff raise the topic of Alaa Abh El-Fattah with the Government of Egypt since 5 July 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Rt Hon Member appears to be under the false impression that the campaign for Mr El-Fattah's release began just six months ago.
In fact, the FCDO first raised Mr El-Fattah's case following his initial conviction in June 2014, a full eleven years before the date mentioned by the Rt Hon Member, and successive governments gave him consular support and made it a priority to argue for his release after he was granted British citizenship in 2021.
If the Rt Hon Member shares the Government's determination to address the information failures exposed by this case, as set out in my statement to the House on 5 January, then it does him no credit to pretend that these same information failures did not also exist under the government in which he served.
Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many meetings Ministers have had on the topic of Alaa Abh El-Fattah since 5 July 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Rt Hon Member appears to be under the false impression that the campaign for Mr El-Fattah's release began just six months ago.
In fact, the FCDO first raised Mr El-Fattah's case following his initial conviction in June 2014, a full eleven years before the date mentioned by the Rt Hon Member, and successive governments gave him consular support and made it a priority to argue for his release after he was granted British citizenship in 2021.
If the Rt Hon Member shares the Government's determination to address the information failures exposed by this case, as set out in my statement to the House on 5 January, then it does him no credit to pretend that these same information failures did not also exist under the government in which he served.
Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 16 December 2024 to Question 18968 on Asylum: Sri Lanka, for what reason the migrants temporarily relocated to the UK were not relocated to St Helena.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Memorandum of Understanding with St Helena signed on 15 October 2024 only applies to migrants who arrive on the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) after that date. The then existing group of migrants on BIOT were not included within the arrangement.
Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 16 December 2024 to Question 18968 on Asylum: Sri Lanka, what accommodation is available on St Helena to house migrants; what the maximum capacity is of this accommodation; how much funding will be provided for this accommodation; whether people with granted applications will remain on the island; whether his Department made an assessment of the views of local people; and if he will publish an Impact Assessment.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government of St Helena is responsible for determining what accommodation should be provided to any migrants transferred, and is currently exploring options. We understand that initially they plan to use an existing facility as temporary accommodation while more suitable longer-term housing is matched to the make-up of any migrant cohort. Funding requirements have not yet been determined.
Immigration is the responsibility of the St Helena Government, which will be responsible for processing any applications for protection or settlement. The Government of St Helena is also responsible for any local consultation and impact assessments. The UK Government continues to work in partnership with the Government of St Helena and as agreed in the MOU between both parties the UK will continue to provide the additional training, expertise and funding required to ensure the Government of St Helena is able to respond if any migrants do arrive on BIOT.