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Efforts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating on bread-and-butter home affairs, according to one of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

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

He added, “The majority on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would always find a way to return to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the amount of time dedicated to 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” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks came in his initial public statement since he stepped down 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

However, Ovenden’s assessment is shared 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 main objectives. He pointed to controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in pub gardens as other instances.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, increasingly tired with distraction, 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 urges the government to roll back environmental regulations, reduce welfare spending and even end 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 unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “There is no need to stifle entrepreneurs from the outset with excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his departure was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.