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Efforts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, according to a former member of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, claimed the case of the imprisoned activist evolved into a “running joke” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the slow pace of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the priorities of the government, and frequently they would be derailed via AOB into discussions of this gentleman,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a sort of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden argued the significant focus dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative 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 arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his first public intervention since he resigned in September, following revelations he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who complained last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government became distracted from its main objectives. He pointed to controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, 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 diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he calls on the government to scale back environmental regulations, cut welfare spending and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs at birth with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, while his critique of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.