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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted the Starmer administration from concentrating 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 stood down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, claimed the case of the imprisoned activist evolved into a “recurring punchline” among those in government exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We'd hold extended discussions on the priorities of the government, and frequently 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 impact us daily. It actually became a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to return to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the amount of time spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah 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 stepped down in September, following revelations he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

However, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who complained last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He cited controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in pub gardens as further examples.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with inaction, more and more fed up with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he urges the government to roll back green rules, cut benefits expenditure and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“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 unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs at birth with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, while his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.