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Attempts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, as stated by one of the PM's inner circle of former advisers.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

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 “running joke” among those in government exasperated with the lack of progress of change.

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

He continued, “Most of us on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into 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 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 came in his initial public statement since he resigned in September, following revelations he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of 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 further examples.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, more and more fed up with distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a further article, he calls on the government to roll back green rules, cut welfare spending and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “We don’t have to stifle entrepreneurs at birth with excessive regulation.”

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