🔗 Share this article

Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, as stated by one of the PM's inner circle of former advisers.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the slow pace of change.

“We'd hold long meetings on the priorities of the government, and often they would be railroaded via AOB into conversations of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “The majority on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us daily. It actually became a sort of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the significant focus spent on the activist's case was indicative of a government that has struggled to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during his initial public statement since he resigned in September, following revelations he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about excessive red tape slowing government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with a lack of progress, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he urges the government to roll back environmental regulations, cut welfare spending and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “We don’t have to strangle small businesses at birth with excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, even as his critique of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.