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Attempts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted the Starmer administration from concentrating on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, according to one of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner became a “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall exasperated with the lack of progress of change.

“We'd hold long meetings on the key goals of the government, and often they would be derailed via any other business into discussions of this gentleman,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “The majority on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn't affect us daily. It truly turned into a sort of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the significant focus spent on 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” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in his first public intervention since he resigned in September, following revelations he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Downing Street, including the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape delaying government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government became distracted from its main objectives. He cited rows over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.

“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 spending their 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 welfare spending and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “We don’t have to stifle small businesses from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, while his critique of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.