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Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on core home affairs, according to one of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in Whitehall exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via AOB into discussions 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 – not closely following it – because it didn't affect us daily. It actually became a sort 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 symptomatic of a government that has struggled to stay focused 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 stepped down in September, after it was revealed he sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

However, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Downing Street, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about excessive red tape delaying government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He pointed to controversies over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as further examples.

“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 side issues, 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 further article, he calls on the government to roll back environmental regulations, cut benefits expenditure and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “We don’t have to strangle small businesses at birth with excessive regulation.”

As one of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was seen by many as a blow to Starmer, even as his critique of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.