🔗 Share this article

Attempts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating on core home affairs, according to a former member of the PM's inner circle of former advisers.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist became a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the priorities of the government, and frequently they would be derailed via AOB into discussions of this gentleman,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “Most of us on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into 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 topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the amount of time dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks were made during his initial public statement since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

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

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government became distracted from its primary goals. He pointed to rows over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, increasingly tired with side issues, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he urges the government to roll back green rules, reduce benefits expenditure and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with excessive regulation.”

As one of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, while his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.