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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 one of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by the slow pace of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the priorities of the government, and often they would be railroaded via any other business into discussions of this gentleman,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “The majority on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – not closely following it – because it didn't affect us daily. It actually became a sort of a standing joke within government that people would invariably 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 indicative of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks came in his initial public statement since he resigned in September, following revelations he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government became distracted from its primary goals. He cited controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with inaction, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

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

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “There is no need to stifle small businesses from the outset with excessive regulation.”

As one of a handful 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 finds sympathy in certain quarters.