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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating on core home affairs, according to a former member of the PM's inner circle of ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “running joke” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

“We'd hold extended discussions on the priorities of the government, and often they would be railroaded via any other business into conversations of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “The majority on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It actually became a sort of a running joke within government that people would always find a way to return to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the significant focus spent on the activist's case was indicative of a government that has struggled to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, following revelations he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

However, 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 stated 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 banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.

“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 distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a further article, he calls on the government to roll back environmental regulations, cut benefits expenditure and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

“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 unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “There is no need to stifle entrepreneurs at birth with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his departure was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, even as his critique of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.