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Efforts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on bread-and-butter home affairs, 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 prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner became a “recurring punchline” among those in government frustrated by the slow pace of change.

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

He added, “Most of us on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect 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 return to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the amount of time spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his initial public statement since he resigned in September, following revelations he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Downing Street, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying 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 controversies over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as further examples.

“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 using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he calls on the government to scale back green rules, reduce welfare spending and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

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

As one of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.