🔗 Share this article

Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted the Starmer administration from concentrating on core home affairs, as stated by a former member of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

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

He continued, “The majority on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn't affect us daily. It actually became a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would always find a way to return to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden argued the amount of time dedicated to the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

These remarks were made during his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Downing Street, 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 became distracted from its main objectives. He pointed to controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, increasingly tired with side issues, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he urges the government to scale back green rules, reduce benefits expenditure and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “We don’t have to strangle small businesses at birth with excessive regulation.”

As one of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.