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Efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on core home affairs, as stated by a former member of the PM's inner circle of ex-aides.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist became a “running joke” among those in Whitehall exasperated with the lack of progress of change.

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

He continued, “Most of us on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact 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 said the significant focus dedicated to 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.

Ovenden’s comments came in his initial public statement since he resigned in September, following revelations he sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed 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 was sidetracked from its main objectives. 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 increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, more and more fed up with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” 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 scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

“It is not necessary to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs at birth with excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, while his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.