Release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah key to UK-Egypt relations, former diplomat says

Ex-ambassador John Casson warns hunger striker's situation at crucial stage after PM meets Egyptian leader

The release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, the detained British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist who is on hunger strike, has become the defining issue for British-Egyptian relations, the former British ambassador to Egypt John Casson has warned.

His comments came as Abd el-Fattah's aunt, the novelist Ahdaf Soueif, said there was a danger the British are allowing themselves to be fobbed off with the excuses they have been given since last December when we started asking for consular visits".