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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted the Starmer administration from concentrating on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, as stated by a former member of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner became a “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

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

He added, “The majority on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a sort of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden argued the amount of time spent on the activist's case was indicative of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during 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.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who lamented 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 main objectives. He pointed to controversies over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in pub gardens as other instances.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with inaction, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, 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 picking the pockets of the wealth-generating sectors 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 strangle entrepreneurs at birth with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a handful of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, while his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.