Distractions Over Alaa Abd el-Fattah Became a Running Joke, States Former Starmer Adviser
Efforts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, as stated by one of the PM's inner circle of former advisers.
Frustration Became a Source of Humour
Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist evolved into a “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall 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 discussions of this individual,” he told 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 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 found it difficult to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” activist groups and arms-length bodies.
Ovenden’s comments were made during his initial public statement 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
However, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape delaying government action.
Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He cited controversies over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.
“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with inaction, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.
Advocating for a Radical Shift
In a separate piece, 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 picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs at birth with excessive regulation.”
Having been part of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.
