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Efforts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on core domestic political issues, according to a former member of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist became a “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall frustrated by 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 discussions 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 – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It actually became a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the amount of time dedicated to the activist's case was indicative of a government that has struggled to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, following revelations he sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government became distracted from its main objectives. He pointed to rows over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with inaction, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he urges the government to scale back environmental regulations, cut benefits expenditure and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs at birth with excessive regulation.”

As one of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, while his analysis of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.