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Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, according to one of the prime minister’s closest 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 imprisoned activist became a “running joke” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

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

He continued, “The majority 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 truly turned into a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to return to this conversation.”

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 remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks were made during his first public intervention since he resigned 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 shared by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government became distracted from its primary goals. He pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.

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

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he calls on the government to roll back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, while his critique of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.