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Attempts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on core home affairs, as stated by a former member of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

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

“We would be having long meetings on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be derailed via any other business into discussions of this gentleman,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “The majority on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a sort of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the amount of time spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during his first public intervention 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 political analysis is echoed by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who complained 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 rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as other instances.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with inaction, more and more fed up with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he urges the government to roll back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“It is not necessary to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

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