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Attempts to free of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on bread-and-butter home affairs, as stated by one of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner became a “recurring punchline” among those in government exasperated with the slow pace of change.

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

He continued, “The majority on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us daily. 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 said the significant focus spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to remain concentrated on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations 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.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed 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 primary goals. He pointed to controversies over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in pub gardens as other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, 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 diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a separate piece, he calls on the government to scale back environmental regulations, cut welfare spending and even scrap 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 above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs at birth with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, while his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.