🔗 Share this article

Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on core home affairs, as stated by one of the prime minister’s closest 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 imprisoned activist evolved into a “running joke” among those in government exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We'd hold extended discussions on the key goals of the government, and often they would be railroaded via any other business into discussions of this gentleman,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the amount of time 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” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, following revelations he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

However, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who complained last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government became distracted from its main objectives. He cited controversies over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.

“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 cannot justify to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he urges the government to roll back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“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 writes. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs at birth with excessive regulation.”

As one of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his departure was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, even as his critique of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.