Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on core domestic political issues, according to a former member of the PM's inner circle of former advisers.
Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner became a “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the lack of progress of change.
“We would be having extended discussions on the priorities of the government, and often they would be derailed via any other business into conversations of this individual,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He added, “The majority on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this conversation.”
Ovenden said the significant focus dedicated to the activist's case was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.
These remarks came in his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.
However, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about excessive red tape slowing government action.
Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He cited controversies over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as further examples.
“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with a lack of progress, more and more fed up with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.
In a separate piece, he urges the government to scale back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even end the triple-lock on pensions.
“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs at birth with regulatory burdens.”
Having been part of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was seen by many as a blow to Starmer, while his analysis of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.
