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Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from focusing on core domestic political issues, according to one of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

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

“We would be having extended discussions on the key goals of the government, and often they would be derailed via AOB into discussions of this gentleman,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “The majority on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us daily. It actually became a sort of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

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” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

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

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government became distracted from its primary goals. He pointed to controversies over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, more and more fed up with distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

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

“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 millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “There is no need to stifle entrepreneurs from the outset with excessive regulation.”

As one of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his departure was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.