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Attempts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing 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 stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner became a “recurring punchline” among those in government exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We'd hold long meetings on the priorities of the government, and often they would be derailed via any other business into conversations of this gentleman,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “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 impact us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a bit of a kind 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 amount of time dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative 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 quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks came in his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

However, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared 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 among a number of areas where the government became distracted from its primary goals. He cited rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with inaction, increasingly tired with side issues, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he urges the government to roll back green rules, reduce benefits expenditure and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “We don’t have to stifle small businesses from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, while his analysis of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.