Sir Keir Starmer is facing renewed scrutiny over his handling of sensitive foreign-policy cases after Paul Ovenden, a former prime ministerial advisor, claimed that the campaign to free Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah was privately dismissed as a 'running joke' inside Whitehall.
The remarks, made by the former director of strategy at No 10 Downing Street, suggest a sharp disconnect between public assurances and internal scepticism — and have reopened debate about how government priorities are shaped behind closed doors.
