UK – The Independent, December 05, 2024
MPs have called on UK ministers to toughen their approach towards foreign governments which detain British nationals overseas amid efforts to free a British-Egyptian citizen held in Egypt.
Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer claimed positive links between London and Cairo could help Egypt improve its human rights record.
But earlier on Thursday, chairwoman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Emily Thornberry warned of a “lack of cohesion” in Whitehall when officials deal with UK passport holders arbitrarily detained abroad.
John McDonnell, who had the Labour whip suspended in July for backing an SNP motion on welfare policy, urged Mr Falconer to consider how he could hit Egypt with trade penalties until authorities free 43-year-old pro-democracy writer Alaa Abd El-Fattah.
