Egypt’s president defends sweeping security laws

President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has defended Egypt’s sweeping security laws, insisting he is still taking the country on a path to democracy.
Ahead of a visit to the UK, Mr Sisi told the BBC that Egypt was threatened by extremist groups and feared the collapses suffered by its neighbours.
He underlined that Egypt’s situation was different to that of Europe.
The retired field marshal led the army’s overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi in 2013 following mass protests.
Since then, more than 1,000 people have been killed and 40,000 are believed to have been jailed in a crackdown on dissent.