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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, according to one of the PM's inner circle of 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 became a “running joke” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

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

He continued, “The majority on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following 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 invariably find a way to return to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the amount of time dedicated to the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

However, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Downing Street, 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 became distracted from its primary goals. He pointed to controversies over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with inaction, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a further article, he calls on the government to scale back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was seen by many as a blow to Starmer, even as his critique of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.