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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, according to 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 PM's chief of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner became a “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the priorities of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via AOB into conversations of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “Most of us on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into 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 conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden argued the significant focus spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic 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.

These remarks were made during his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, following revelations he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who complained 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 outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with inaction, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he urges the government to roll back environmental regulations, cut benefits expenditure and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs 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 exit was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, while his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.