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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, according to a former member of the PM's inner circle of ex-aides.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “running joke” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the slow pace of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the key goals of the government, and often they would be derailed via any other business into discussions of this gentleman,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “The majority on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It actually became 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 said the significant focus spent on the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has found it difficult to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in his initial public statement 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 Downing Street, even the prime minister, who complained last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He cited controversies over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as other instances.

“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 cannot justify 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 scale back green rules, cut benefits expenditure and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep taking money 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 excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was seen by many as a blow to Starmer, even as his critique of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.