Diversions Over Alaa Abd el-Fattah Were a Running Joke, States Ex-Starmer Aide
Efforts to free of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on core 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 PM's chief of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “recurring punchline” among those in government exasperated with the lack of progress of change.
“We would be having long meetings on the key goals of the government, and often they would be derailed via AOB into conversations of this individual,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He continued, “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 running joke within government that people would always find a way to return to this topic.”
A Sign of Wider Struggles
Ovenden said the amount of time spent on the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations 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 previously.
Echoes of PM's Own Concerns
However, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Downing Street, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.
Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He cited rows 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, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, more and more fed up with distraction, 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 calls on the government to roll back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.
“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “There is no need to stifle small businesses at birth with excessive regulation.”
As one of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, while his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.
