🔗 Share this article

Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on bread-and-butter home affairs, as stated by a former member of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “running joke” among those in government exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via AOB into conversations of this individual,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “The majority on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It truly turned into a sort of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the significant focus spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has found it difficult to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks were made during his first public intervention since he resigned in September, following revelations he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

However, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape slowing government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government became distracted from its main objectives. He pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in pub gardens as other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with inaction, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he urges the government to scale back green rules, cut welfare spending and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “There is no need to stifle small businesses at birth with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, while his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.