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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government 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 stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “recurring punchline” 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 frequently they would be railroaded via any other business into discussions of this gentleman,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the significant focus dedicated to the activist's case was indicative of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, following revelations he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

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

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He cited controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking 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 cannot justify to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he urges the government to scale back green rules, cut benefits expenditure and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “We don’t have to stifle entrepreneurs at birth with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, while his analysis of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.