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Efforts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating 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 stepped down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist evolved into a “running joke” among those in Whitehall exasperated with the lack of progress of change.

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

He continued, “The majority on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a sort of a running 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 dedicated to the activist's case was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks were made during his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, following revelations he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Downing Street, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government became distracted from its main objectives. He cited controversies over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in pub gardens as further examples.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, increasingly tired 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 calls on the government to roll back green rules, cut benefits expenditure and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, even as his critique of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.