Diversions Regarding Abd el-Fattah Were a Running Joke, Says Former Starmer Aide

Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah 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 ex-aides.

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 imprisoned activist evolved into a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by 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 stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us daily. It actually became a sort of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the significant focus spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah 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 “influential” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his initial public statement since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed 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 among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He pointed to rows 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, increasingly tired with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he urges the government to roll back environmental regulations, cut welfare spending and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “We don’t have to strangle small businesses from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his departure was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, while his analysis of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.