Efforts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, as stated by a former member of the PM's inner circle of ex-aides.
Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by the slow pace of change.
“We'd hold long meetings on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via AOB into discussions of this gentleman,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He added, “Most of us on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a sort of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this conversation.”
Ovenden argued the significant focus dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “well-connected” activist groups and arms-length bodies.
These remarks came in his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, following revelations he sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.
However, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about excessive red tape slowing government action.
Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government became distracted from its main objectives. He cited rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.
“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with inaction, more and more fed up with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.
In a further article, he urges the government to roll back green rules, cut benefits expenditure and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.
“It is not necessary to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “We don’t have to stifle small businesses at birth with excessive regulation.”
Having been part of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.
A seasoned gambling analyst with over a decade of experience in casino gaming and slot machine strategy development.
