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Efforts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, according to 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 PM's chief of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “running joke” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

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

He added, “The majority on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a sort 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 amount of time spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, following revelations he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

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

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government became distracted from its main objectives. He pointed to 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, ever more disillusioned 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 diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he urges the government to roll back green rules, cut benefits expenditure and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to fund above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his departure was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.