‘I’ll starve myself until I collapse to secure my son’s release from Egyptian prison,’ vows grandmother

Grandmother Laila Souief, 68, stands outside the Foreign Office calling for her son, Abdel Al-Fattah’s release from an Egyptian prison - (Tom Watling/The Independent)

In the Christmas cold outside the Foreign Office, 68-year-old grandmother Laila Soueif is starving herself.

White lines are being chalked onto the pavement in front of her, one for each day she has been on hunger strike. After the 80th line, the words “Free Alaa” follow.