🔗 Share this article

Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on core home affairs, as stated by one of the PM's inner circle of former advisers.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

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

He added, “Most of us on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It truly turned into a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

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 stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Number 10, including 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 became distracted from its main objectives. He cited controversies over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in pub gardens as further examples.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up 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 further article, he calls on the government to scale back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “There is no need to stifle entrepreneurs from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, while his analysis of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.