🔗 Share this article

Efforts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted the Starmer administration from concentrating on bread-and-butter home affairs, according to a former member 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 imprisoned activist became a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

“We'd hold long meetings on the priorities of the government, and often 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 team of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It actually became a sort of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the significant focus spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during his first public intervention since he resigned in September, following revelations he 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 Number 10, including the prime minister, who complained 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 primary goals. He pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with inaction, more and more fed up 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 separate piece, he urges the government to scale back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

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

Having been part of a handful of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, while his analysis of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.