🔗 Share this article

Attempts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on core 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, claimed the case of the imprisoned activist became a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

“We'd hold extended discussions on the key goals of the government, and often they would be derailed via AOB into discussions of this gentleman,” he told 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 bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the significant focus dedicated to the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in his initial public statement since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

However, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Downing Street, including the prime minister, who complained last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He cited controversies over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

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

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he calls on the government to roll back green rules, 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 writes. “We don’t have to stifle small businesses at birth with excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a handful 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, while his analysis of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.