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Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from focusing on core home affairs, according to one of the PM's inner circle of 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 became a “recurring punchline” among those in government frustrated by the slow pace of change.

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

He added, “The majority on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – not closely following 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 bring it back to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden argued the significant focus spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah 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.

These remarks came in his initial public statement 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 assessment is shared by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape slowing government action.

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

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up 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 diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he calls on the government to scale back environmental regulations, reduce welfare spending and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“It is not necessary to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “We don’t have to strangle small businesses from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.