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Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on core home affairs, according to one 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, said the case of the imprisoned activist evolved into a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by the slow pace of change.

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

He continued, “The majority on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden argued the amount of time spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “well-connected” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his first public intervention since he resigned in September, following revelations he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Downing Street, even the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape delaying government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in pub gardens as further examples.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up 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 distractions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he calls on the government to scale back green rules, cut welfare spending 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 fund above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a handful of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.