Politicians have given away too much power to deliver pledges, says PM's ex-aide

"Writing in The Times, Paul Ovenden, who quit as Keir Starmer's director of political strategy last September after offensive messages he had sent in 2017 surfaced, said the British state had got "bigger and bigger while simultaneously and systematically emasculating itself"."

"Mr Abd El Fattah was imprisoned in an Egyptian jail for more than a decade after being convicted of "spreading fake news" about torture in the country. He was released in September following lobbying by successive British governments and arrived in the UK last week. His arrival was initially welcomed by the prime minister who said he was "delighted" and that his case had been "a top priority for my government"."

"However, Sir Keir faced criticism when social media posts emerged in which Mr Abd El Fattah called for the killing of Zionists and police officers. Sir Keir said he had been unaware of the "absolutely abhorrent" posts, which Mr Abd El Fattah has since apologised for, and that the government was reviewing the "information failures in this case"."

Paul Ovenden, a former director of political strategy, criticised how government operates and said politicians have given away too much power to lawyers, activists and regulators while the state has expanded and simultaneously emasculated itself. He cited the Alaa Abd El Fattah case as revealing odd Whitehall priorities and urged politicians, with a stiffening resolve, to take back control of democratic levers. He expressed confidence that Sir Keir Starmer is the right person to pursue changes. Alaa Abd El Fattah spent more than a decade imprisoned in Egypt for "spreading fake news", was released after lobbying, and then drew controversy over past social media posts.

Read at www.bbc.com