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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, according to one of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

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

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

He continued, “The majority on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us daily. It truly turned into a sort of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the significant focus dedicated to the activist's case was indicative of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in his initial public statement since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

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

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He pointed to controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in pub gardens as other instances.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with a lack of progress, increasingly tired with distraction, 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 urges the government to scale back environmental regulations, reduce 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 pay for above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “We don’t have to strangle small businesses from the outset with excessive regulation.”

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