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Attempts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted 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 imprisoned activist evolved into a “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

“We would be having extended discussions on the key goals of the government, and often they would be railroaded via any other business into conversations of this gentleman,” he stated on 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 impact us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became 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 significant focus spent on the activist's case was indicative 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.

Ovenden’s comments came in his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

However, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who complained last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with inaction, more and more fed up with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford 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 environmental regulations, reduce 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 above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle small businesses at birth with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part 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, even as his analysis of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.