Diversions Over Abd el-Fattah Were a Recurring Gag, States Ex-Starmer Aide

Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, as stated by one of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

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

“We would be having long meetings on the priorities of the government, and frequently they would be derailed via AOB into conversations of this individual,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

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

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

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

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

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

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

Ovenden said 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 other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with a lack of progress, increasingly tired with side issues, 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 urges the government to scale back green rules, cut 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 unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “We don’t have to strangle small businesses at birth with excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, even as his critique of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.