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Efforts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on core home affairs, according to a former member of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, said 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 key goals of the government, and often they would be derailed via any other business into discussions of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political team of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the amount of time spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has struggled to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

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

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

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

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He cited rows over compensation for historical injustices 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 inaction, 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 further article, he urges the government to scale back green rules, reduce welfare spending and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs at birth with excessive regulation.”

As one of a small group 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 resonates in certain quarters.