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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from focusing on core home affairs, as stated by one of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in government exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We'd hold long meetings on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via any other business into discussions of this individual,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the amount of time dedicated to the activist's case was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his initial public statement since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed 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 among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He pointed to rows over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in pub gardens as other instances.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with inaction, increasingly tired with side issues, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he urges the government to scale back green rules, cut welfare spending and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“It is not necessary to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, even as his analysis of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.