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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, as stated by one of the prime minister’s closest 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 imprisoned activist became a “recurring punchline” among those in government frustrated by the slow pace of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the priorities of the government, and often they would be derailed via AOB into discussions of this individual,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “The majority on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a sort of a running joke within government that people would always find a way to return to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the significant focus spent on the activist's case was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his initial public statement since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who complained last month about bureaucratic hurdles 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 prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with a lack of progress, 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 urges the government to roll back environmental regulations, cut benefits expenditure and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

“It is not necessary to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs at birth with excessive regulation.”

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