Egypt protests: Telegraph
Live news of the protests in Egypt against President Hosni Mubarak's Government in January 2011
• Police return to the streets of Cairo after two days
• David Cameron adds voice to calls for restraint
• Foreign Office Egypt hotline: 0207 007 1500'
• David Cameron adds voice to calls for restraint
• Foreign Office Egypt hotline: 0207 007 1500'
09:51 Tony Blair, the Middle East peace envoy and former Prime Minister, has been speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live about Egypt (photo: BBC):
"People want change but they don't want chaos. There's going to be change - there's no doubt about that.
"And there will be a move, I think, to free and fair elections. But it's got to happen in such a way that political parties have got a chance to compete properly in those elections and so that there is a sense of order and responsibility as this process of change gets under way."
He downplayed the risk of an Islamist revolution, saying:
"I don't think there is a majority for that in Egypt, in fact.
"I don't think that's the risk. Funnily enough, I don't think they [the Muslim Brotherhood] would win an election. I think the danger is if you get chaos and then out of that chaos comes the wrong sort of change."
It was "perfectly possible that you (will) get a democratic government that is prepared to work with the government of Israel to bring about a Palestinian state".
He stressed that "Hosni Mubarak is not Saddam Hussein" and said he had done "an immense amount" for the peace process.
But he said it was not "sustainable" for out-of-touch elites to go on "governing in the way that they've been governing for decades".
09:47 And some analysis, also from overnight: Richard Spencer asks whether the revolution will turn out to be a blow to Western interests in the region:
"For most of his rule, Mr Mubarak has portrayed himself as a bulwark against two Middle Eastern forces; anti-Israel militarism, and Islamist politics, whether in the semi-establishment guise of the Muslim Brotherhood or the radical form of al-Qaeda. The latter's second in command, Ayman Zawahiri, is Egyptian. The protesters say this argument is wearing thin. Egypt's variegated society, its liberal, secular middle classes, its bloggers and tweeters, and its religiously devout shopkeepers and farmers all want democracy, however it turns out."
09:44 Here's the Telegraph's full story on David Cameron and Barack Obama calling for an "orderly, Egyptian-led transition" of govenment:
"President Barack Obama telephoned David Cameron to discuss the crisis, signalling a toughening of the Western position on Egypt after more than 100 people were killed in six days of protests against President Hosni Mubarak's rule.
"'The Prime Minister and President Obama were united in their view that Egypt now needed a comprehensive process of political reform, with an orderly, Egyptian-led transition leading to a government that responded to the grievances of the Egyptian people and to their aspirations for a democratic future,' a spokesperson for Mr Cameron said."
09:38 Omar Sharif, the great Egyptian actor, has joined the voices calling for Mr Mubarak to step down. The 78-year-old, best known for his role in Lawrence of Arabia, said in a radio interview:
"The president should have resigned. Given that the entire Egyptian people don't want him and he's been in power for 30 years that's enough.
"The president hasn't improved the standard of living of Egyptians. There are some people that are very rich – maybe 1 per cent – and the rest are all poor trying to find food."
Sharif also says he is worried about a rise of Islamism in the country now that the authorities' suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood has ended:
"I don't want the Muslim Brotherhood. They were trapped and now are starting to come out. They have 20 per cent of the population and it's frightening for me."
09:32 Tourism, one of Egypt's largest sources of income, is taking an understandable battering during the protests. The US State Department is evacuating its citizens from Cairo to Cyprus, using several flights over the coming days. US Assistant Secretary of State Janice Jacobs says that they may also send charter planes to other cities in Egypt, such as Luxor, if there are Americans stranded there, according to AP. Turkey and India are also evacuating their citizens.
09:29 As Richard Spencer reported, thousands of Egyptian prisoners escaped during the protests, either released by protesters or simply escaping in the chaos as security forces evaporated. Egyptian state television is now showing images of dozens of recaptured inmates, handcuffed and guarded by soldiers.
09:25 More news from last night in Cairo, where, as the 4pm curfew loomed, two Egyptian air force F-16s swooped low over the crowd in Tahir Square in the city centre, in an apparent and unsuccessful attempt to intimidate them into breaking up and going home:
(Photo: PA)
09:18 Israel, for whom Egypt is a strong regional ally, has been pushing its diplomats around the world to support the Mubarak regime, according to Israeli daily Ha'aretz:
"Israel called on the United States and a number of European countries over the weekend to curb their criticism of President Hosni Mubarak to preserve stability in the region.
"Jerusalem seeks to convince its allies that it is in the West's interest to maintain the stability of the Egyptian regime. The diplomatic measures came after statements in Western capitals implying that the United States and European Union supported Mubarak's ouster...
"Senior Israeli officials... said that on Saturday night the Foreign Ministry issued a directive to around a dozen key embassies in the United States, Canada, China, Russia and several European countries. The ambassadors were told to stress to their host countries the importance of Egypt's stability. In a special cable, they were told to get this word out as soon as possible."
Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, left, and vice president Omar Suleiman, centre, on Egyptian state TV (Photo: AP)
09:09 Police are back on the streets of Cairo for the first time in two days. Richard Spencer, who is in the Egyptian capital, has sent us the following:
"The Egyptian authorities returned police to the streets of Cairo this morning in an attempt to reestablish order in Cairo and other major cities.
"Gangs of vigilanties roamed the suburubs overnight to protect their homes from looters, some allegedly released from prisons stormed on Sunday morning.
"Mohamed ElBaradei renewed his calls overnight for the army to meet him to discuss the formation of a transition government.
"There was no immediate sign that the army was prepared to abandon President Hosni Mubarak, a former general. But protesters announced there would be a 'million-strong march' on Tahir Square in the centre of Cairo on Tuesday to renew their demands for Mr Mubarak to go.
"Protesters claim that poilice were withdrawn on Friday and over the weekend as a deliberate tactic to force protesters out of the city centre to protect their homes and families.
"This morning police were seen outside the Israeli embassy, but major junctions were still under the control of army tanks."
The streets of Egypt's major cities have been in chaos over the weekend: this is Alexandria on Saturday. (Photo: AFP)
08:54 David Cameron, the Prime Minister, has joined Mr Hague and Mrs Clinton in calling for the Egyptian government to refrain from cracking down harshly on protesters, according to Reuters, but has stopped short of demanding Mr Mubarak leave office:
"It's very important that if it's (U.S.) President Obama or whether it's me, we're not saying who should run this country or that country.
"It's sensible to say that you do have a choice here, this repression, if you opt for that, that will end badly for Egypt, badly for the world. It's the wrong choice to make."
Monday 31 January 2011 08:42 Good morning: Tom Chivers here with coverage of day seven of the continuing protests in Egypt against President Hosni Mubarak's regime.
Here's a run-down of the situation overnight.
Alex Spillius and Richard Spencer report that Mubarak has come under increased pressure from the West, as Hillary Clinton and William Hague call for an "orderly transition" to democracy:
"As an anti-government revolt raged for a sixth day, with thousands of protesters still on the streets, the US Secretary of State and William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, only just stopped short of demanding that Mr Mubarak end his 28-year rule immediately.
"But in a clear sign that their support for his regime is wavering, they made it clear they could envisage a time without the 82-year-old in charge in the not too distant future."
Meanwhile, in the absence of any sort of police presence on the streets of Cairo, looting has engulfed the city:
"Cairo residents boarded up homes and set up neighbourhood watches of citizens armed with guns, clubs and knives as looting and violence engulfed the capital.
"Thousands of inmates escaped prisons across Egypt, including at least one jail that housed Muslim militants northwest of Cairo, adding to the chaos engulfing the country as anti-government protests continue to demand the longtime President Hosni Mubarak step down."
We weren't running rolling live coverage yesterday, but take a look through our coverage of Friday and Saturday's protests as they happened here:
• Egypt protests: day five of the protests as it happened
• Egypt protests: day four of the protests as it happened
• Egypt protests: day four of the protests as it happened
The Telegraph team covering Egypt:
Adrian Blomfield covers the Middle East from the Daily Telegraph's Jerusalem bureau. He has been writing for the paper since 2001, based first in Nairobi and later in Moscow.
Richard Spencer is one of the Daily Telegraph's Middle East correspondents. He was China correspondent for six years before moving to Dubai, where he lives with his wife and children.
Colin Freeman is the Chief Foreign Correspondent for the Sunday Telegraph. He has worked for the paper for five years, covering stories in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Rob Crilly is the Telegraph's Pakistan Correspondent. He previously reported on the Middle East and before that was East Africa correspondent of The Times, travelling extensively through the continent’s wars in Somalia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Alex Spillius is the Telegraph’s Washington Correspondent. He covered the 2008 campaign in its entirety and has since documented the tribulations of the Obama administration and the rise of the tea party.