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Attempts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from focusing on core domestic political issues, according to a former member of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist became a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by the slow pace of change.

“We'd hold extended discussions on the priorities of the government, and often they would be railroaded via AOB into discussions of this gentleman,” 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 – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It truly turned into a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to return to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the amount of time spent on the activist's case was indicative of a government that has struggled to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “well-connected” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

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

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who complained last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government became distracted from its main objectives. He pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in pub gardens as other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, increasingly tired with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he calls on the government to roll back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“It is not necessary to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “There is no need to stifle entrepreneurs at birth with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.