Distractions Regarding Abd el-Fattah Became a Running Joke, Says Former Starmer Aide
Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, according to one of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.
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 exasperated with the slow pace of change.
“We'd hold extended discussions on the priorities of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via any other business into conversations of this gentleman,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He continued, “Most of us on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following 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.”
A Sign of Wider Struggles
Ovenden said the amount of time spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has struggled to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.
These remarks 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.
Echoes of PM's Own Concerns
But, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Downing Street, even the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape delaying government action.
Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He pointed to controversies over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.
“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with inaction, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.
Calls for Policy Overhaul
In a separate piece, he urges the government to roll back green rules, cut welfare spending and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.
“It is not necessary to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “There is no need to stifle small businesses from the outset with regulatory burdens.”
As one of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his departure was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.
