Donald Macintyre's Sketch: Tory unrest about Egypt's President Sisi a bit of a coup

Unfailingly polite, upstanding, ex-military (Captain in the Green Jackets) Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood was well placed to defend the visit by Egypt’s President Sisi as “an opportunity [for David Cameron] to emphasise his desire to see more political progress in Egypt, including …on human rights and political freedoms,” Unfortunately he would have had problems even if this “opportunity” hadn’t been overshadowed by friction over the UK’s unilateral decision to ground flights from Sharm-el-Sheikh.

One was what Lib Dem ex-minister Tom Brake, who had dragged Ellwood to the Commons, reminded MPs had been Foreign Office Permanent Secretary Sir Simon McDonald’s recent cat-out-of-bag acknowledgement that although human rights “is one of the things we follow, it is not one of our top priorities… right now the prosperity agenda is further up the list”. Since the UK is the biggest foreign investor in Egypt, MPs could be forgiven for thinking the “prosperity agenda” had been a key reason for the original invitation.

Then Tory Crispin Blunt pointed out that the price for the “stability” achieved by President Sisi had involved “possibly thousands of people ….killed” when he took over, 40,000 in prison, death penalties being handed out in batches of several hundred, and …….first-hand testimony of people being tortured in the Egyptian justice system.” Blunt doubted the visit was “wholly appropriate until such issues are properly addressed.” And noted that the Foreign Office had reportedly been “unenthusiastic” about the visit until overruled by No 10.

Ellwood dealt as manfully as he could with all this. Insisting that the FCO was “fully in support of the visit” – wisely since it was already happening - he questioned whether Blunt was speaking as an “individual” or in his role as Foreign Affairs Select Committee chairman “because I am not sure that the Committee would be in synergy with everything that he has said.” (Though the suggestion that Select Committee chairmen ring round all their members before speaking in the Commons is a novel one.)

Then he sought to “clarify” Sir Simon’s remark, insisting ministers raised human rights “as a matter of course” in such meetings. Businesses did not invest in other countries “ if they do not feel secure and that there is an advancement in human rights.” (Hmm security, perhaps, but human rights? China, Kazakhstan, and yes, Egypt?) He reminded Labour’s Helen Goodman that the President had been elected (albeit, he presumably didn’t feel the need t add, after a military coup and in a ballot in which the by then banned Muslim Brotherhood didn’t participate.)

Luckily, Tory Sir Gerald Howarth came to Ellwood’s rescue, saying that that “we warmly welcome President Sisi’s visit. We think it is a tremendous opportunity for the United Kingdom to engage.” Except even that went a bit wrong. When a relieved Ellwood said “I very much welcome my honourable Friend to his position as chair of the all-party group on Egypt”, Howarth, arch-opponent of all things politically correct, growled: “I am not the chair. I am the chairman.”