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Attempts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from focusing on core home affairs, as stated by one of the PM's inner circle of ex-aides.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, claimed the case of the imprisoned activist evolved into a “running joke” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

“We'd hold long meetings on the priorities of the government, and often they would be railroaded via AOB into conversations of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political side of government were largely unaware 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 running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the amount of time 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 “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

These remarks were made during his first public intervention since he resigned in September, following revelations he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Downing Street, 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 was sidetracked from its primary goals. He pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with inaction, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their 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 guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“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 the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “There is no need to stifle entrepreneurs from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was seen by many as a blow to Starmer, even as his analysis of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.