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Attempts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, 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 “running joke” among those in government exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We'd hold extended discussions on the key goals 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 added, “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 on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a sort of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the amount of time spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has found it difficult to remain concentrated on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in his first public intervention since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Downing Street, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.

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

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with inaction, 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 diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he urges the government to roll back environmental regulations, reduce welfare spending and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets 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 argues. “We don’t have to stifle entrepreneurs from the outset with excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.