🔗 Share this article

Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from focusing on core home affairs, according to a former member of the PM's inner circle of 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 slow pace of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be derailed via any other business into discussions of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “Most of us on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It actually became a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the significant focus dedicated to the activist's case was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

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

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who complained 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 became distracted from its primary goals. He cited controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in pub gardens as other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned 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 scale back environmental regulations, cut benefits expenditure and even scrap 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 above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “There is no need to stifle entrepreneurs at birth with excessive regulation.”

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