UK embassy in Cairo closed amid row over Egyptian activist's arrest

The removal of the barriers is widely seen as retaliation for the arrest of a pro-Egyptian government activist in London last week.

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The UK Foreign Office said its main embassy building in the capital's Garden City district would remain shut "while the impact of these changes is reviewed", but added the embassy remained operational.

The decision follows growing calls in the country for a retaliatory response to the UK's handling of a protest in London, reports say.

Last week, a prominent pro-Egyptian government activist was arrested and later released after apparently confronting protesters outside Egypt's UK embassy, Daily News Egypt reported.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty reportedly called the UK's National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell last week to ask for an explanation over the arrest.