Efforts to free of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on bread-and-butter home affairs, according to a former member of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.
Frustration Became a Source of Humour
Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in government exasperated with the slow pace of change.
“We would be having extended discussions on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be derailed via any other business into conversations of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He added, “The majority 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 bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”
Symptomatic of a Broader Issue
Ovenden said the amount of time dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and arms-length bodies.
Ovenden’s comments were made during 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.
Echoes of PM's Own Concerns
But, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who complained 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 compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking 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, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.
Calls for Policy Overhaul
In a separate piece, he calls on the government to roll back green rules, reduce welfare spending and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.
“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “We don’t have to stifle entrepreneurs at birth 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, even as his analysis of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.
