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Attempts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, according to 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 prime minister’s director of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner became a “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall exasperated with the lack of progress of change.

“We'd hold long meetings on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via AOB 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 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 amount of time spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks came in 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 eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about excessive red tape slowing government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government became distracted from its main objectives. He pointed to rows over compensation for historical injustices and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.

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

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he calls on the government to roll back environmental regulations, cut welfare spending and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “We don’t have to stifle small businesses from the outset 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 blow to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.