Distractions Regarding Alaa Abd el-Fattah Were a Running Joke, Says Former Starmer Adviser
Efforts to free of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted 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.
A 'Running Joke' Within Government
Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, claimed the case of the imprisoned activist evolved into a “running joke” 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 frequently they would be derailed via AOB into conversations of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He continued, “Most of us on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It truly turned into a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”
Symptomatic of a Broader Issue
Ovenden argued the amount of time dedicated to the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.
These remarks came in his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.
Shared Frustrations in Downing Street
But, Ovenden’s assessment is shared 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 one of several areas where the government became distracted from its primary goals. He pointed to controversies over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as other instances.
“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with a lack of progress, more and more fed up with side issues, 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 urges the government to roll back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.
“It is not necessary 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 unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with excessive regulation.”
As one of a handful of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, while his critique of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.
