LONDON, September 1. /TASS/. Egypt’s decision not to ensure the security of the British embassy in Cairo was a response to the British police actions during the protests in front of the Egyptian diplomatic mission in London, The Daily Telegraph said.

The United Kingdom announced the temporary closure of its embassy in Cairo on August 31 after the Egyptian authorities removed concrete security barriers that protected the embassy building. Egypt’s move "is understood to be in retaliation against Scotland Yard’s handling of protests outside Egypt’s embassy in London," the newspaper writes.

Several protests were held in front of the Egyptian embassy in London in recent months demanding Egypt open the Rafah checkpoint on the border with the Gaza Strip to deliver more aid to the enclave. According to the newspaper, the protests "have led to the formation of a government-backed nationalist group called ‘Egyptian Youth Union Abroad." The group staged pro-government actions near the embassy. Last week, the London police detained the group’s leader, Ahmed Abdel Qader, for allegedly engaging in a scuffle with anti-government activists.

The man was later released, with no charges brought against him, but the incident caused outrage in Cairo. Last week, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty discussed the incident with UK national security adviser Jonathan Powell and "urged the UK to quickly investigate the circumstances of his arrest and the reasons behind it," The Daily Telegraph said.