Diversions Over Abd el-Fattah Became a Recurring Gag, Says Former Starmer Adviser
Efforts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on core domestic political issues, according to 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, claimed the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by the lack of progress of change.
“We'd hold long meetings on the priorities of the government, and often they would be derailed via AOB into conversations of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He continued, “The majority on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a sort of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this topic.”
Symptomatic of a Broader Issue
Ovenden argued the significant focus dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “well-connected” activist groups and arms-length bodies.
These remarks were made during his initial public statement since he resigned in September, following revelations he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.
Shared Frustrations in Downing Street
However, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Downing Street, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about excessive red tape slowing government action.
Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He pointed to controversies over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as other instances.
“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with inaction, more and more fed up with distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their time on what I consider diversions,” he said.
Calls for Policy Overhaul
In a separate piece, he calls on the government to scale back green rules, cut benefits expenditure and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.
“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “There is no need to stifle entrepreneurs at birth with regulatory burdens.”
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, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.
