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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, as stated by one of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist evolved into a “running joke” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the slow pace of change.

“We'd hold long meetings on the key goals of the government, and often they would be derailed via any other business into conversations of this gentleman,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “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 standing 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 dedicated to 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 inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who complained last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He pointed to controversies over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in pub gardens 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.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he calls on the government to scale back green rules, cut welfare spending and even end 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 inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “We don’t have to strangle small businesses at birth with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his departure was seen by many as a blow to Starmer, while his analysis of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.