GB News erupts into furious Alaa Abd el-Fatta clash: ‘That’s not an apology!’

Iain Duncan Smitrh was challenged on GB News.

Charlie Peters and Miriam Cates challenged Iain Duncan Smith on GB News (Image: GB News)

GB News presenters Charlie Peters and Miriam Cates pressed former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith to apologise for signing a letter calling for the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah in a heated exchange, after the MP expressed regret over his support of the Egyptian-British activist and former political prisoner who was imprisoned by the Egyptian government for 12 years. Following his release, controversial historic social media posts were unearthed, raising questions about those who backed his release into the UK. During her daily show, Britain’s Newsroom on the channel Cates initially asked: “What was it about him and others like him that really drew Western politicians like yourself to supporting him at the time?”

Blaming a change in the system for conducting background checks, Smith said: “It’s worth just reflecting on the reality that he was actually released by the Egyptian government, and just as he was about to leave, he was then re-arrested without any particular charges. That’s what really stirred the original cry to let him go, as per the letter (which I signed). I accepted assurance from people about his background and past that I shouldn’t have done, and I’ve regretted that because I hadn’t been involved in his case previously,” he admitted.

“The reality, though, in all of this, is what’s going on in the officialdom around the government and the previous governments too – we used to do huge checks on everybody’s backgrounds.

“During the Cold War, you couldn’t meet a member of government who would meet somebody without them knowing chapter and verse, what they’ve written, what they’ve said, what their position was, all of that carried on successfully, particularly with regards to, of course, the Soviet Union.

“It seems that that whole process has stopped, been stopped or collapsed. I can’t make my mind up about it, because it turns out now that these briefings are haphazard, and some of the interrogation of people’s pasts is pretty unsystematic. And the reality is that there’s a question mark as to whether ministers are told anything at all…It’s a chaotic process.

“So accepting the assurance that somebody has got British citizenship had had all these checks done, was the mistake I and others made, assuming straight away that it would have been clear I’m never going to do that again. I have to tell you.”

Alaa Abd el-Fattah was released from prison in Egypt and returned to the UK (Image: Getty)

Unsatisfied with his answer, Peters probed him: “I know that when you’ve spoken about this on X, you said you regret signing that letter, but that’s the closest we’ve come to an apology…Do you want to apologise for not checking yourself?”