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Efforts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on core home affairs, according to a former member of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist became a “running joke” among those in Whitehall exasperated with the slow pace of change.

“We'd hold extended discussions on the priorities of the government, and frequently they would be derailed via AOB into discussions of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “Most of us on the political team 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 bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would invariably find a way to return to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the significant focus spent on the activist's case was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, following revelations he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Downing Street, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles 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 cited rows over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in pub gardens as further examples.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with a lack of progress, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he urges the government to scale back environmental regulations, cut welfare spending and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

“It is not necessary 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 writes. “There is no need to strangle small businesses from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

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