🔗 Share this article

Attempts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating on core domestic political issues, as stated by a former member of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “recurring punchline” among those in government exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We would be having extended discussions on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via AOB into conversations of this individual,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “Most of us on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact 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 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 “well-connected” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

However, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Downing Street, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying 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 rows over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as further examples.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with inaction, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he calls on the government to scale back environmental regulations, cut welfare spending and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“It is not necessary 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. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.