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Attempts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating 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 prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “running joke” among those in government 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 stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “The majority on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It truly turned into a sort of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the amount of time dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during his first public intervention 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 shared by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who complained last month about bureaucratic hurdles 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 reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with inaction, increasingly tired 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 urges the government to scale back environmental regulations, cut benefits expenditure and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “We don’t have to stifle small businesses from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a handful 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 critique of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.