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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from focusing on core home affairs, according to one 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 imprisoned activist evolved into a “recurring punchline” among those in government frustrated by the slow pace of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the key goals 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, “The majority on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It actually became 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 significant focus spent on the activist's case was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during 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.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Downing Street, even 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 was sidetracked from its primary goals. He pointed to controversies over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes 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 distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he urges the government to scale back green rules, reduce welfare spending and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have 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 argues. “There is no need to stifle entrepreneurs 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 widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, while his critique of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.