🔗 Share this article

Efforts to free of the British-Egyptian activist regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating on core home affairs, according to a former member of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

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 British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the slow pace of change.

“We'd hold extended discussions on the priorities of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via any other business into conversations of this gentleman,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “Most of us on the political side of government weren’t that aware 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 return to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the amount of time dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has found it difficult to remain concentrated on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks were made during his first public intervention 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 shared by many in Downing Street, including the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape slowing government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government became distracted from its primary goals. He cited rows over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he urges the government to scale back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “There is no need 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, while his critique of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.