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Attempts to free of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing 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, said the case of the imprisoned activist became a “running joke” among those in Whitehall exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We'd hold extended discussions on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded 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 side of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a sort of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the amount of time spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has found it difficult 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 were made during his first public intervention since he stepped down 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 echoed by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about excessive red tape delaying government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He cited controversies over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas 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 simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

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

“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “We don’t have to stifle entrepreneurs at birth with excessive regulation.”

As one of a handful of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, while his critique of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.