🔗 Share this article

Efforts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating 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, claimed the case of the British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the slow pace of change.

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

He continued, “Most of us on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us daily. 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 topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the significant focus spent on 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 “influential” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

However, 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 said Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He pointed to controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in pub gardens as further examples.

“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 separate piece, he calls on the government to scale back green rules, reduce welfare spending and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the productive parts of our economy in order to fund above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle small businesses from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his departure was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, while his critique of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.