🔗 Share this article

Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on core domestic political issues, according to a former member of the PM's inner circle of former advisers.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in Whitehall exasperated with the lack of progress of change.

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

He added, “The majority on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact 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 argued the amount of time spent on the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks were made during his initial public statement since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Downing Street, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.

Ovenden stated 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 prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, increasingly tired with side issues, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he urges the government to roll back green rules, reduce 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 pay for inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs at birth with regulatory burdens.”

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