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Efforts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted the Starmer administration from concentrating on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, 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 British political prisoner became a “recurring punchline” among those in government frustrated by the slow pace of change.

“We'd hold long meetings on the priorities of the government, and often they would be railroaded via any other business into conversations of this individual,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “The majority on the political side 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 truly turned into a sort of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden argued the significant focus dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah 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 arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Downing Street, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about excessive red tape delaying government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government became distracted from its main objectives. He pointed to controversies over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas 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 simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he urges the government to roll back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure 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 the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs at birth with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a handful 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.