🔗 Share this article

Attempts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on core home affairs, as stated by a former member of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

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 Whitehall exasperated with the lack of progress of change.

“We would be having extended discussions on the priorities of the government, and often they would be derailed via any other business into discussions of this gentleman,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “Most of us on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a sort of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden argued the significant focus spent on the activist's case 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 arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Number 10, even 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 was sidetracked from its main objectives. He pointed to rows over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up 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 further article, he urges the government to scale back environmental regulations, reduce welfare spending and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to fund above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “We don’t have to stifle entrepreneurs at birth with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his departure was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, even as his critique of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.