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Attempts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, according to one of the PM's inner circle of former advisers.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

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 slow pace of change.

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

He added, “Most of us on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the amount of time spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

These remarks were made during his initial public statement since he resigned in September, following revelations he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

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

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He pointed to rows over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with a lack of progress, increasingly tired with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he urges the government to scale back green rules, cut benefits expenditure and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “We don’t have to stifle small businesses at birth with regulatory burdens.”

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