UK embassy in Cairo closed amid row over Egyptian activist’s arrest

The UK has temporarily closed its embassy in Cairo after Egyptian authorities removed security barriers outside the building, amid a diplomatic row over the arrest of an activist.

The UK Foreign Office said its main embassy building in the capital’s Garden City district would remain shut “while the impact of these changes is reviewed”, but added the embassy remained operational.

The decision follows growing calls in the country for a retaliatory response to the UK’s handling of a protest in London, reports say.

Last week, a prominent pro-Egyptian government activist was arrested and later released after apparently confronting protesters outside Egypt’s UK embassy, Daily News Egypt reported.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty reportedly called the UK’s National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell last week to ask for an explanation over the arrest.

Abdelatty has previously said Egypt has the “right to respond and reciprocity” against countries that “failed to provide protection for Egyptian embassies in accordance with the Vienna Convention”.

The arrest also sparked a row in Egypt, with some political figures urging Egyptian authorities to remove barriers from the UK’s embassy in Cairo.

BBC News understands the UK government is continuing to engage with Egyptian counterparts over the security of the embassy in Cairo and the safety of staff.

The Foreign Office has provided phone numbers on the Egypt travel advice tab of its website for those in need of consular assistance. The page does not advise against travel to Cairo, but does advise against travel to certain parts of Egypt.

Large barriers have been installed around the UK and US embassies in Cairo for decades, which critics in Egypt say have disrupted traffic on streets in the area.

The UK embassy in Cairo previously closed temporarily in 2013 and 2014 in relation to separate security concerns.