Diversions Over Alaa Abd el-Fattah Became a Running Joke, States Former Starmer Aide

Attempts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on bread-and-butter 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 PM's chief of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist evolved into a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

“We'd hold long meetings on the key goals of the government, and often they would be derailed via any other business into discussions of this gentleman,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “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 on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would always find a way to return to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the significant focus dedicated to the activist's case was indicative of a government that has struggled to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

These remarks were made during his first public intervention since he resigned in September, following revelations he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

However, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Downing Street, even the prime minister, who complained last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government became distracted from its main objectives. He pointed to controversies over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in pub gardens as other instances.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with inaction, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a further article, he urges the government to roll back green rules, reduce welfare spending and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle small businesses from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.