The United Kingdom Embassy in Cairo has closed in the middle of the Egyptian activist’s arrest

The United Kingdom temporarily closed its embassy in Cairo after the Egyptian authorities suppressed the security barriers outside the building, in the middle of a diplomatic row on the arrest of an activist.

The British Foreign Ministry said its main embassy building in the capital’s Garden City district would remain closed “when the impact of these changes is examined”, but added that the embassy has remained operational.

The decision follows growing calls in the country for a reprisal response to management by a UK in London, according to reports.

Last week, an eminent activist of the pro-Egyptian government was arrested and released later after having apparently confronted demonstrators outside the UK Embassy in Egypt, Daily News Egypt reported.

The Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Badr Abdeatty, would have called the United Kingdom National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell last week to request an explanation on the arrest.

Abdelatty previously declared that Egypt had the “right to respond and reciprocity” against countries which “have not protected Egyptian embassies in accordance with the Vienna Convention”.

The arrest also sparked a row in Egypt, some political figures urging the Egyptian authorities to eliminate the obstacles of the United Kingdom Embassy in Cairo.

BBC News understands that the British government continues to engage with Egyptian counterparts for the Embassy in Cairo and staff safety.

Foreign Office has provided phone numbers to the Advise tab of Egyptian trips on its website for those who need consular assistance. The page does not advise to travel to Cairo, but advises to travel to certain parts of Egypt.

Large barriers have been installed around the United Kingdom and American embassies in Cairo for decades, which, according to criticism in Egypt, have disrupted traffic in the streets of the region.

The United Kingdom Embassy in Cairo previously closed temporarily in 2013 and 2014 in relation to separate security problems.