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Efforts to free 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 evolved into a “running joke” among those in government exasperated with the slow pace 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 gentleman,” 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 impact us daily. It truly turned into 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 said the amount of time spent on the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He pointed to rows 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, 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.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he calls on the government to scale 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 fund above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle small businesses at birth with excessive regulation.”

As one of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his departure was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, even as his critique of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.