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Efforts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, as stated by one of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, claimed the case of the imprisoned activist became a “running joke” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

“We would be having extended discussions on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via AOB into conversations of this gentleman,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a sort of a running joke within government that people would always find a way to return to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden argued the significant focus spent on 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 quasi-independent agencies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, following revelations he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape slowing government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked 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 more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with inaction, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he calls on the government to roll back green rules, cut benefits expenditure and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund above-inflation pension rises 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 the opposition benches, his departure was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.