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Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, according to one of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the slow pace of change.

“We'd hold long meetings on the key goals of the government, and often they would be derailed via AOB into discussions of this individual,” 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 bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the amount of time spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

These remarks 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 previously.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about excessive red tape delaying government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as further examples.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with inaction, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he calls on the government to scale back green rules, reduce benefits expenditure and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle small businesses at birth with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, while his analysis of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.