Former ambassador and UK politicians urge updated Egypt travel advice over real risks to British citizens, as repression and detentions rise.
Calls are mounting in the UK for the government to revise its travel advice to Egypt, as critics argue that the current guidance underplays the real risks British citizens face in the North African country.
Leading the appeal is former UK ambassador to Egypt, Sir John Casson, who said the current travel advisory, which focuses mainly on risks of terrorism, fails to reflect the “real and demonstrated risks” to Britons posed by the Egyptian state itself.
This comes in the wake of the continued detention of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a prominent British-Egyptian activist.
Abd el-Fattah, who was granted UK citizenship in 2021 while imprisoned, has been held in an Egyptian jail since 2019 on charges widely condemned by international human rights groups as politically motivated.
Despite repeated requests, Egyptian authorities have refused consular access to UK officials, claiming they do not recognise his British nationality.
Sir John, who served in Cairo between 2014 and 2018.
He joined MPs and human rights advocates in urging the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) to update its travel warning, as it has done in countries like Iran and Hong Kong.
Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s family has campaigned tirelessly for his release, highlighting the UK government’s failure to exert meaningful pressure on Egypt.
His sister, Mona Seif, has repeatedly called on British officials to publicly acknowledge the limits of their diplomatic leverage.
As calls for change grow louder, pressure is mounting on the Foreign Office to act decisively and update its travel guidance to reflect not just the physical dangers but also the legal and political threats facing visitors to Egypt today.
