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Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on core domestic political issues, according to one of the PM's inner circle of ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner became a “recurring punchline” among those in government exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the key goals of the government, and often they would be derailed via AOB into conversations of this individual,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “The majority on the political side 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 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 argued the amount of time spent on the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks came in his first public intervention since he resigned in September, following revelations he had 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, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government became distracted from its primary goals. He pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies 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 side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he urges the government to roll back green rules, reduce benefits expenditure and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle small businesses at birth with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his departure was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, while his critique of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.