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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted the Starmer administration from concentrating on core home affairs, according to a former member of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist evolved into a “running joke” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the slow pace of change.

“We'd hold long meetings on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be derailed 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 weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a sort of a running joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the significant focus spent on the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments came in 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

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Downing Street, even 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 became distracted from its main objectives. He pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in pub gardens as other instances.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he urges the government to scale back green rules, cut benefits expenditure and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have 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 unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “We don’t have to stifle entrepreneurs at birth with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, while his critique of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.