🔗 Share this article

Attempts to free of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted the Starmer administration from concentrating on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, according to one of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist 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 frequently they would be railroaded via any other business into discussions 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 actually became a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said 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 “influential” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during 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 previously.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

However, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who complained last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He cited rows over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with inaction, increasingly tired with side issues, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he calls on the government to roll back green rules, cut benefits expenditure 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 millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with excessive regulation.”

As one of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, even as his critique of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.