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Attempts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on core home affairs, according to one of the PM's inner circle of ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

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

“We would be having long meetings on the priorities of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via AOB 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 bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the amount of time spent on the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during his initial public statement since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Number 10, 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 became distracted from its primary goals. He cited controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in pub gardens as other instances.

“At a time 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 distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he calls on the government to scale 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 productive parts of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

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