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Efforts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating on core domestic political issues, as stated by 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, claimed the case of the British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in government exasperated with the lack of progress of change.

“We would be having extended discussions on the priorities of the government, and often they would be railroaded via any other business into conversations of this gentleman,” he told 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 daily. It actually became a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would always find a way to return to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the amount of time dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his first public intervention since he stepped down 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 political analysis is shared by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape 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 cited rows over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with inaction, increasingly tired with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he calls on the government to roll back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “We don’t have to strangle small businesses at birth with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was seen by many as a blow to Starmer, while his critique of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.