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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, according to 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, claimed the case of the imprisoned activist became a “running joke” among those in government exasperated with the lack of progress of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the priorities of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via any other business into conversations of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “The majority on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – not closely following it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a sort of a standing 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 spent on the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “well-connected” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in his first public intervention since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Downing Street, even the prime minister, who complained last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government became distracted from its primary goals. He pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with inaction, increasingly tired with side issues, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a further article, he calls on the government to scale back green rules, cut benefits expenditure and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “We don’t have to stifle small businesses from the outset with excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, while his analysis of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.