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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on core domestic political issues, 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 Whitehall frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

“We'd hold extended discussions on the key goals 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 – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden argued the significant focus dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in 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

But, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape delaying government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government became distracted from its primary goals. He pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in pub gardens as other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with a lack of progress, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he calls on the government to scale 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 millionaires 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 handful of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.