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Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating on bread-and-butter home affairs, as stated by a former member of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

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 Whitehall frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be derailed via AOB into discussions of this gentleman,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “Most of us on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a sort of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the amount of time spent on the activist's case was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

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.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape 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 reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with inaction, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their 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, reduce benefits expenditure and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

“It is not necessary to keep taking money of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “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 widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, while his critique of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.