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Efforts to free of the British-Egyptian activist regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on bread-and-butter home affairs, as stated by a former member of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

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 British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in Whitehall exasperated with the lack of progress of change.

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

He added, “The majority on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the amount of time dedicated to the activist's case was symptomatic 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” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in his first public intervention since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, 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 said Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government became distracted from its primary goals. He cited controversies over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“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 spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a further article, he calls on the government to roll back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“It is not necessary to keep taking money of the productive parts of our economy in order to fund above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “We don’t have to stifle small businesses at birth with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, while his critique of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.