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Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing 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, claimed the case of the imprisoned activist became a “running joke” among those in government exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the priorities of the government, and often they would be derailed via AOB into conversations of this individual,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “Most of us on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It truly turned into a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would always find a way to return to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the amount of time dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Number 10, including 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 cited controversies over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with inaction, increasingly tired with side issues, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he urges the government to roll back green rules, reduce welfare spending and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

“It is not necessary to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs at birth with excessive regulation.”

As one of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was seen by many as a blow to Starmer, while his critique of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.