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Attempts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on core domestic political issues, according to one of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

“We'd hold long meetings on the priorities of the government, and frequently they would be derailed via any other business into conversations of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It truly turned into a sort of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the amount of time dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks came in his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, following revelations he sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Number 10, even 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 pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, 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 distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he urges the government to roll back environmental regulations, cut benefits expenditure and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “We don’t have to stifle small businesses from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was seen by many as a blow to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.