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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on core domestic political issues, according to one of the PM's inner circle of former advisers.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “running joke” among those in Whitehall exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We would be having extended discussions on the priorities of the government, and often they would be railroaded via any other business into conversations of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “Most of us on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us daily. 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 argued the significant focus dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

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

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Downing Street, even the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape slowing government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He cited controversies over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as further examples.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with a lack of progress, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he urges the government to scale back environmental regulations, cut welfare spending and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“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 unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.