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Efforts to free of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on core home affairs, according to a former member of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the slow pace of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the priorities of the government, and often they would be railroaded via AOB into discussions of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “The majority on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – not closely following it – because it didn't affect us daily. It truly turned into a sort of a running joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden argued the amount of time dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape slowing government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He cited controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in pub gardens as further examples.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with inaction, more and more fed up with distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a further article, he calls on the government to roll back green rules, cut benefits expenditure and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle small businesses at birth with regulatory burdens.”

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 blow to Starmer, while his critique of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.