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Efforts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on bread-and-butter home affairs, according to a former member of the PM's inner circle of ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

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

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

He continued, “Most of us on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us daily. It truly turned into a sort of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the significant focus spent on the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks came in his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

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

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government became distracted from its primary goals. He cited controversies over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with inaction, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he urges the government to scale back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep taking money 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 writes. “We don’t have to stifle entrepreneurs at birth with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a handful of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.