🔗 Share this article

Efforts to free of the British-Egyptian activist regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating on core home affairs, according to one of the PM's inner circle of ex-aides.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stepped 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 frustrated by the lack of progress 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 told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect 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.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden argued the significant focus spent on the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, following revelations he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Downing Street, 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 primary goals. He pointed to controversies over compensation for historical injustices 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 simply can’t afford 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 roll back environmental regulations, reduce welfare spending and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “We don’t have to stifle small businesses at birth with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.