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Attempts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, as stated by one of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

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

“We'd hold extended discussions on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be derailed via AOB into conversations 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 – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us daily. It actually became a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the amount of time spent on the activist's case was indicative of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks came in his first public intervention since he resigned in September, following revelations he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Downing Street, including the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape delaying government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government became distracted from its main objectives. He pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with inaction, increasingly tired with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he calls on the government to scale back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “There is no need to stifle small businesses from the outset with excessive regulation.”

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