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Efforts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist regularly distracted the Starmer administration from focusing on core home affairs, as stated by 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 PM's chief of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner became a “recurring punchline” among those in government exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be derailed via any other business into discussions of this individual,” he stated on 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 symptomatic of a government that has found it difficult to remain concentrated 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 resigned in September, after it was revealed he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

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

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He pointed to rows 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, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he urges the government to scale back green rules, reduce welfare spending and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have 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 unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “There is no need to stifle entrepreneurs at birth 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 setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.