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Efforts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, as stated by a former member of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, claimed the case of the imprisoned activist became a “recurring punchline” among those in government exasperated with the slow pace of change.

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

He continued, “The majority 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 invariably find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said 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 “influential” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during his initial public statement since he resigned in September, following revelations he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Downing Street, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He cited controversies over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as other instances.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he calls on the government to roll back green rules, cut welfare spending and even scrap 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 the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “We don’t have to stifle small businesses at birth with excessive regulation.”

As one of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, while his analysis of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.