Mother of prisoner in Egypt says Lammy must keep promises

The British-born mother of an Egyptian political prisoner who has been on hunger strike for 58 days is preparing to meet the foreign secretary, David Lammy, to urge him to secure her son's release.

- Patrick Wintour

Laila Soueif's son Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a British and Egyptian dual citizen who wrote eloquently about the Arab spring and its aftermath, was jailed for five years for "spreading false news". He was due to be released in September, but has not been freed.

Soueif, who has lost 16kg (2st 7lb) since holding her hunger strike in Britain, admits her body is slowly closing down, "like a panda bear in hibernation" as she puts it, and she admits she is getting slower, tiring quickly if she climbs stairs.

One of her daughters, Mona, worries because her doctors say older bodies - Soueif is 68 - can deteriorate very quickly.

Soueif's diet consists of sugarless green tea, water and rehydration salts. She says the "edge" of hunger disappeared after the first week.

Mona says it was agreed that her mother wanted to use her body to secure Alaa's release after serving his five-year sentence, but it has become what she describes as "an open conversation within the family when this might end".

Her mother insists "I am still functioning normally because I am in the phase when I am burning more body fat. I think because of my initial weight I can lose another 9kg before it becomes difficult."