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Efforts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, according to a former member of the PM's inner circle of ex-aides.

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 imprisoned activist became a “running joke” 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 often they would be derailed via any other business into conversations of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “Most of us on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It truly turned into a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the amount of time dedicated to the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations 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 political analysis is echoed by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government became distracted from its primary goals. He cited controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in pub gardens as other instances.

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

Advocating for a Radical Shift

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

“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “There is no need to stifle small businesses at birth with excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was seen by many as a blow to Starmer, even as his analysis of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.