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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating on core domestic political issues, as stated by a former member of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stepped 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 would be having long meetings on the priorities of the government, and often they would be derailed via AOB into conversations of this gentleman,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us daily. It actually became a sort of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the significant focus spent on the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in his first public intervention since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Number 10, 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 was sidetracked from its main objectives. He pointed to controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in pub gardens as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with inaction, more and more fed up with distraction, 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 further article, he calls on the government to roll back green rules, cut welfare spending and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

“It is not necessary to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle small businesses from the outset with excessive regulation.”

As one of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was seen by many as a blow to Starmer, while his analysis of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.