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Attempts to free of Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, as stated by a former member of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by the slow pace of change.

“We'd hold extended discussions on the key goals 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, “Most of us on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us daily. 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.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the significant focus dedicated to the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

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

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Downing Street, including the prime minister, who complained last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.

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

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with a lack of progress, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a further article, he urges the government to scale back green rules, cut welfare spending and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“It is not necessary 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 unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “There is no need to stifle entrepreneurs at birth 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 critique of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.