Diversions Over Abd el-Fattah Were a Running Joke, States Former Starmer Adviser
Attempts to free of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, as stated by a former member of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.
A 'Running Joke' Within Government
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 “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall exasperated with the slow pace of change.
“We'd hold extended discussions on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be derailed via any other business into discussions of this gentleman,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He added, “The majority on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It actually became a sort of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to return to this conversation.”
A Sign of Wider Struggles
Ovenden said the amount of time spent on the activist's case was indicative of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.
These remarks came in his first public intervention since he resigned in September, following revelations he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.
Shared Frustrations in Downing Street
However, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who complained last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying 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 rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.
“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with a lack of progress, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.
Calls for Policy Overhaul
In a further article, he calls on the government to roll back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.
“We don’t have to keep taking money of the productive parts of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs at birth with regulatory burdens.”
As one of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, while his analysis of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.
