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Attempts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing 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 prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist evolved into a “running joke” among those in Whitehall exasperated with the lack of progress 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 conversations of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “The majority on the political team 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 standing joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden said the significant focus spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, following revelations he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

However, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Downing Street, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about excessive red tape delaying government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He cited controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in pub gardens as other instances.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, more and more fed up with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford 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 environmental regulations, cut benefits expenditure and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “There is no need to stifle small businesses at birth with excessive regulation.”

As one of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, while his critique of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.