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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on core home affairs, as stated by one of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “running joke” among those in Whitehall exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We'd hold long meetings on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via AOB into discussions of this gentleman,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn't affect us daily. It actually became a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the amount of time spent on the activist's case was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his first public intervention since he resigned in September, following revelations he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape slowing government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He cited rows over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with a lack of progress, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he urges the government to scale back green rules, cut benefits expenditure and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have 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 strangle entrepreneurs from the outset 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 seen by many as a setback to Starmer, while his critique of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.