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Attempts to free of the British-Egyptian activist regularly distracted 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.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall exasperated with the lack of progress of change.

“We would be having long meetings on the priorities of the government, and often they would be derailed via AOB into discussions of this individual,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a bit of a kind of a running joke within government that people would always 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 symptomatic of a government that has found it difficult to remain concentrated 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 resigned in September, following revelations he sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Downing Street, even the prime minister, who complained last month about excessive red tape delaying government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government became distracted from its main objectives. He pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with inaction, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a further article, he urges the government to roll back green rules, reduce welfare spending and even scrap the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“It is not necessary 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 unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs 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 seen by many as a blow to Starmer, even as his critique of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.