A 68-YEAR-OLD mother on hunger strike over her British son’s arbitrary detention in Egypt has been admitted to hospital.

Laila Soueif was taken to St Thomas’ A&E on Monday night after her blood sugar was recorded at home at a worrying new low of 2.1 millimoles per litre, subsequently dropping to 2.0, as she reported feeling some numbness in her face.

She has been on hunger strike for 149 days in protest against her pro-democracy activist son’s Alaa Abd Fattah’s detention in Egypt.

Mr Fattah, 43, has been held in Egypt since September 2019, and in December 2021 was sentenced to five years in prison after being accused of spreading false news.

Ms Soueif has lost nearly 30kg, 35 per cent of her starting body weight, since she began consuming nothing but herbal tea, black coffee and rehydration salts on September 29 last year.

Mr Fattah’s family have consistently called for him to be reunited with his 13-year-old son Khaled, who lives in Brighton.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer met Ms Soueif on February 14 and said he would do all that he could to secure her son’s release.

Amnesty International UK chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said: “Laila’s sudden deterioration in health is incredibly worrying. It should never have come to this.

“Earlier this month the Prime Minister said he would do everything he can to secure the release of Alaa — now is the time to turn promises into results.

“The government must make Alaa’s case a top priority — delaying action any further could be a matter of life and death.”

The Foreign Office was contacted for comment.