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Attempts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, according to one of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

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 “recurring punchline” among those in government frustrated by the slow pace of change.

“We'd hold extended discussions on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be derailed via any other business into discussions 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 daily. It actually became a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the significant focus spent on the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has found it difficult to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Downing Street, including the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape slowing government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He pointed to controversies over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

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

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he urges the government to roll back green rules, cut welfare spending 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. “We don’t have to stifle entrepreneurs at birth with excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.