🔗 Share this article Diversions Over Alaa Abd el-Fattah Were a Running Joke, Says Former Starmer Adviser Efforts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on core home affairs, according to a former member 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 became a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by the slow pace of change. “We would be having long meetings on the key goals of the government, and often they would be derailed via AOB into conversations 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 – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It truly turned into a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this topic.” A Sign of Wider Struggles Ovenden argued the amount of time dedicated to the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies. These remarks came in his first public intervention since he resigned in September, following revelations he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously. Echoes of PM's Own Concerns However, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Downing Street, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action. Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He cited controversies over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances. “At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with inaction, increasingly tired with side issues, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said. Advocating for a Radical Shift In a separate piece, he urges the government to roll back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism. “It is not necessary to keep taking money of the productive parts of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “We don’t have to stifle small businesses from the outset with excessive regulation.” Having been part of a handful of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, while his critique of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.