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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, as stated by a former member of the PM's inner circle of former advisers.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist became a “recurring punchline” among those in government frustrated by the lack of progress 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 stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “Most of us on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – not closely following it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden argued the amount of time dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has struggled to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his first public intervention since he resigned 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 political analysis is echoed by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape delaying government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He pointed to controversies over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in pub gardens as further examples.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a further article, he calls on the government to roll back green rules, cut 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 unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “We don’t have to strangle small businesses at birth with excessive regulation.”

As one 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, while his analysis of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.