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Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on core home affairs, according to one 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 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 frequently they would be derailed via any other business into discussions of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following 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 always find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the amount of time spent on 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 “well-connected” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his initial public statement since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Downing Street, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about excessive red tape slowing government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He cited controversies over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in pub gardens as other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with inaction, increasingly tired with side issues, in my opinion, we cannot justify 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, reduce welfare spending and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with excessive regulation.”

As one of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, while his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.