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

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the lack of progress 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 individual,” he told 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 daily. It actually became a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the significant focus 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 “well-connected” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks came in his initial public statement since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape slowing 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 controversies over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with inaction, more and more fed up with distraction, 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 green rules, reduce welfare spending and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“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 millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “We don’t have to stifle entrepreneurs from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.