Diversions Regarding Abd el-Fattah Were a Running Joke, Says Former Starmer Adviser
Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted 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 stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the lack of progress of change.
“We would be having long meetings on the priorities of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via any other business into conversations of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He added, “The majority on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It actually became a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this conversation.”
A Sign of Wider Struggles
Ovenden argued the amount of time spent on the activist's case was indicative of a government that has struggled to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” activist groups and arms-length bodies.
Ovenden’s comments came in his first public intervention since he resigned 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 political analysis is shared by many in Downing Street, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.
Ovenden stated 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 reparations to former colonies 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 inaction, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.
Advocating for a Radical Shift
In a further article, he urges the government to roll back green rules, reduce benefits expenditure and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.
“It is not necessary to keep taking money of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with regulatory burdens.”
Having been part of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his departure was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, even as his critique of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.
