🔗 Share this article

Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on core home affairs, as stated by one of the PM's inner circle of ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist evolved into a “running joke” among those in government exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the priorities of the government, and often they would be railroaded via AOB into conversations of this gentleman,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “The majority on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us daily. It truly turned into a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

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

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

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Number 10, even 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 was sidetracked from its main objectives. He pointed to controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in pub gardens as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with inaction, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” 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 guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “We don’t have to stifle entrepreneurs from the outset with excessive regulation.”

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