Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the Prime Minister on legal powers to restrict the (a) activities and (b) presence in the United Kingdom of Alaa Abd el Fattah.

We do not routinely comment on individual cases however the Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister have made clear that Ministers and officials were previously unaware of the historic posts made by Mr El-Fattah.

All British citizens have a Right of Abode (ROA) in the UK which means they are entitled to live in the UK without any immigration restrictions and do not need to obtain the permission of an immigration officer to enter the UK.

Deportation from the UK only applies to foreign nationals. British citizens cannot be deported from the UK.

Deprivation of British citizenship is assessed individually on the basis of all available evidence.

This government and successive governments before it have been clear that the exercise of this tool must be used sparingly, and only against the highest harm and most dangerous individuals.

This includes those who pose a threat to the UK, including terrorists, and those who are involved in serious organised crime. The government does not propose to change the basis on which the power is used.

For those who are not deprived of citizenship but may have acted in a criminal manner, we encourage independent law enforcement to use their full suite of powers.