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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on core domestic political issues, according to a former member of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

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 government frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

“We'd hold extended discussions on the priorities of the government, and frequently they would be derailed via AOB into conversations of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “The majority on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a sort of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

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

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

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

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

Ovenden stated 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 banning smoking in pub gardens as other instances.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with a lack of progress, increasingly tired 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 separate piece, he urges the government to roll back environmental regulations, reduce welfare spending and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the productive parts of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “We don’t have to strangle small businesses at birth with excessive regulation.”

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