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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, as stated by a former member of the PM's inner circle of ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

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 exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We would be having long meetings 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, “The majority on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us daily. It actually became a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the amount of time spent on 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 arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his first public intervention since he resigned in September, following revelations he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

However, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Downing Street, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He cited controversies over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as other instances.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

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

“It is not necessary 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 unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “We don’t have to stifle small businesses at birth with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his departure was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.