🔗 Share this article

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

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “recurring punchline” 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 often they would be railroaded via any other business into conversations of this gentleman,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “The majority on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn't affect us daily. It actually became a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the significant focus dedicated to the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

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

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

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

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He cited rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with inaction, more and more fed up 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 calls on the government to scale back environmental regulations, cut welfare spending and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“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 small businesses at birth with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, even as his critique of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.