Diversions Regarding Abd el-Fattah Became a Running Joke, States Former Starmer Adviser
Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, according to one 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, claimed the case of the imprisoned activist evolved into a “recurring punchline” among those in government exasperated with 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 continued, “The majority on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a sort of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this topic.”
A Sign of Wider Struggles
Ovenden said the significant focus dedicated to the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.
Ovenden’s comments were made during his initial public statement since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.
Echoes of PM's Own Concerns
However, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Downing Street, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.
Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He pointed to controversies over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in pub gardens as further examples.
“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 spending their time on what I consider diversions,” he said.
Calls for Policy Overhaul
In a further article, he calls on the government to roll back green rules, cut benefits expenditure and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.
“It is not necessary to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “We don’t have to strangle small businesses from the outset with excessive regulation.”
As one of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was seen by many as a blow to Starmer, while his analysis of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.
