🔗 Share this article

Efforts to free of the British-Egyptian activist regularly distracted the Starmer administration from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, as stated by a former member of the PM's inner circle of ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “recurring punchline” among those in government frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

“We'd hold extended discussions on the priorities of the government, and often they would be railroaded via AOB into discussions of this gentleman,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a sort of a running joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the significant focus spent on 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 “well-connected” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he had 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, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government became distracted from its primary goals. He cited controversies over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with inaction, increasingly tired 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 further article, he urges the government to scale back environmental regulations, cut benefits expenditure and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have to keep taking money 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 stifle entrepreneurs at birth with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was seen by many as a blow to Starmer, even as his critique of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.