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Attempts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from focusing on core home affairs, according to one 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 became a “running joke” among those in government exasperated with the slow pace of change.

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

He added, “The majority on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the amount of time spent on the activist's case was indicative of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks were made during his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, 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 stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He cited rows over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with inaction, increasingly tired with distraction, 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 scale back environmental regulations, reduce welfare spending and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

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

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