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Efforts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on core domestic political issues, as stated by one of the prime minister’s closest 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 British political prisoner became a “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall exasperated with 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 discussions of this individual,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “Most of us on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a sort of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the amount of time spent on the activist's case was indicative of a government that has struggled to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “well-connected” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during his initial public statement 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 slowing 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 reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in pub gardens as other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, more and more fed up 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 separate piece, he calls on the government to roll back environmental regulations, cut benefits expenditure and even scrap 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 the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “There is no need to stifle small businesses at birth with excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, while his critique of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.