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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.

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 British political prisoner evolved into a “running joke” among those in government exasperated with the lack of progress 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 individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – not closely following 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.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the amount of time spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, following revelations he sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape slowing government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He pointed to rows over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, 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.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he urges the government to scale back environmental regulations, reduce welfare spending and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to fund above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “There is no need to stifle small businesses at birth with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was seen by many as a blow to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.