Efforts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on core domestic political issues, according to a former member of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.
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 British political prisoner evolved into a “running joke” among those in government exasperated with the lack of progress of change.
“We'd hold long meetings on the key goals of the government, and often they would be railroaded via AOB into conversations of this gentleman,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He added, “Most of us on the political side of government were largely unaware 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 invariably find a way to return to this conversation.”
Symptomatic of a Broader Issue
Ovenden argued the significant focus spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to remain concentrated on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “well-connected” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.
Ovenden’s comments came in his first public intervention since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.
Shared Frustrations in Downing Street
But, Ovenden’s assessment 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 one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He cited rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as further examples.
“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 using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.
Calls for Policy Overhaul
In a separate piece, he calls on the government to scale back green rules, reduce benefits expenditure and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.
“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts 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 stifle entrepreneurs at birth with excessive regulation.”
As one of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.
