Britain Closes Its Embassy in Cairo After Security Barriers Are Removed

The British Embassy in Cairo announced today, Sunday, the closure of its main building in the Egyptian capital, just hours after Egyptian authorities removed the security barriers surrounding the embassy in the Garden City area.

The embassy stated in a statement that "the security barriers that surrounded the embassy have been removed by the Egyptian authorities, and the main building of the embassy will be temporarily closed while the impact of these changes is reviewed."

The Egyptian authorities had decided to remove the concrete barriers in front of the British embassy, indicating that this step aims to facilitate traffic in the area surrounding the streets leading to the embassy.

Earlier this week, British authorities released Egyptian activist Ahmed Abdel Qader Mido, who became known for confronting a group of people who attempted to storm the Egyptian embassy in London.

This event sparked widespread reactions from both sides, especially after Mido was arrested in London last week.

In this context, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aty made a call to British National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell, where he confirmed that the Egyptian Foreign Ministry is closely monitoring the investigations related to the arrest of Ahmed Abdel Qader (known as "Mido"), and demanded a swift disclosure of the circumstances of his arrest and the reasons behind it, in addition to the results of the investigations and the prompt release of him.

Minister Abdel Aty had previously indicated in statements that Egypt reserves the right to respond and reciprocate with any country that fails to provide the necessary protection for Egyptian embassies, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Immunity, following the attacks that targeted the Egyptian embassy in London.

Earlier, the British embassy in Cairo had taken strict security measures, as concrete barriers surrounded the embassy building for security reasons.

However, the recent decision by Egyptian authorities to lift these barriers came at a sensitive time, coinciding with the recent tensions that have characterized relations between the two countries following the incident of the attack on the Egyptian embassy in London.

The British embassy in Cairo continues to closely monitor the situation, while Egyptian authorities are closely watching the developments of recent incidents, at a sensitive time for relations between the two countries.