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Attempts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted the Starmer administration from concentrating on core home affairs, according to a former member of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stepped 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 exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via AOB into conversations of this gentleman,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “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 impact us daily. It actually became a sort of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to return to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the significant focus spent on the activist's case was symptomatic 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 arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about excessive red tape 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 rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as further examples.

“At a time 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 using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a further article, he calls on the government to scale back green rules, cut welfare spending and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have 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 unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “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 widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, while his critique of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.