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Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, as stated by a former member of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist became a “running joke” among those in Whitehall exasperated with the lack of progress of change.

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

He added, “The majority on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following 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 topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the amount of time dedicated to the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities 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, after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Downing Street, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about excessive red tape delaying government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government became distracted from its primary goals. He pointed to rows over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with inaction, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he calls on the government to scale back green rules, reduce welfare spending and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to fund above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “There is no need to stifle entrepreneurs from the outset with excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, even as his analysis of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.