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Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on bread-and-butter home affairs, according to one of the PM's inner circle of ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist became a “recurring punchline” 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 railroaded via any other business into conversations of this individual,” he told 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 impact us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a sort of a standing 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 significant focus spent on the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

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

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, 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 said Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government became distracted from its primary goals. He pointed to controversies over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with a lack of progress, 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 further article, he urges the government to scale back green rules, reduce welfare spending and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “We don’t have to stifle entrepreneurs at birth with excessive regulation.”

As one of a small group 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 resonates in certain quarters.