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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.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, claimed the case of the imprisoned activist evolved into a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by the slow pace of change.

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

He continued, “The majority on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us daily. It actually became a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden argued 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 “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

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

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He pointed to controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in pub gardens as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with a lack of progress, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he urges the government to roll back green rules, reduce welfare spending and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“It is not necessary to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his departure was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, even as his critique of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.