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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on core home affairs, as stated by one 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, claimed the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by 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 AOB into discussions of this individual,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a sort of a standing joke within government that people would always 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 indicative of a government that has struggled to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks came in his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, following revelations he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government became distracted from its main objectives. He cited controversies over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.

“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 side issues, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a further article, he calls on the government to roll back environmental regulations, cut welfare spending 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 fund above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “We don’t have to strangle small businesses at birth with excessive regulation.”

Having been part 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 governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.