Bill Nighy issues urgent plea to Keir Starmer as hunger striker faces death

Iconic actor Bill Nighy has issued an impassioned plea to prime minister begging him to intervene in the case of British-Egyptian author and activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah. Alaa is currently imprisoned in and his mother Dr Laila Soueif, is on Day 247 of a hunger strike to draw attention to the case. This is not the first time Bill has implored the government to intervene in the case. The Love Actually star previously .

In the short clip Bill stood in a relatively bare space with a window behind him. "Prime minister, my name is Bill Nighy," he said, "and I can't imagine, or perhaps I can't imagine what your average day is like. I know your responsibilities are endless. I've petitioned you on this matter before and I've been asked to do so again. It's the case of Dr, Leila Swaith, who is currently near death on hunger strike in an attempt to highlight the injustice of her son Ali Abdel Fatah's imprisonment in Egypt.

"I know you're aware of this, but he's imprisoned indefinitely, having committed no crime other than to have a point of view and a great enthusiasm for his country. It's a question of hours, possibly certainly days before the inevitability of Dr. Soueif's death.

"She is prepared to use her death as her final weapon," he insisted. "If you have any influence, any strategy that might persuade the powers that be to prevent her death and end her son's imprisonment, I urge you to use it today."

He concluded by thanking the Prime Minister for listening on behalf of himself and the family.

Alaa was sentenced to five years of imprisonment for spreading "false news undermining national security" in December 2021 after he shared a Facebook post about a prisoner dying following torture. However the Free Alaa campaign says he should have been released on September 29, 2024 based on his time served behind bars since 2019 while waiting for his trial.

His 69-year-old mother, has vowed to continue her hunger strike in London despite the fact doctors have warned her she's now at risk of sudden death after eight months.

Now hospitalised in St Thomas' the maths professor told the BBC's Today programme she "passionately" wants to live. However she added she was prepared to die if that was what it took to get her son out of jail in Cairo.

She was hospitalised in February, where she agreed to consume 300 liquid calories a day, after Keir Starmer called on Egypt's President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to free her son. She resumed her full hunger strike on May 20, saying that no progress had been made.

She was hospitalised again last Thursday, May 29 and given glucagon, a hormone used to treat severe hypoglycaemia. She's currently taking intravenous electrolytes but refusing glucose treatment. According to her family her glucose levels dropped so low over the past weekend they couldn't be detected.