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Efforts to free of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, according to a former member of the PM's inner circle of 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 British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in government exasperated with the lack of progress of change.

“We'd hold extended discussions on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via any other business into conversations 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 – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It actually became a sort of a running 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 amount of time spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during his first public intervention since he resigned in September, following revelations he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

However, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who complained last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying 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 rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with inaction, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be using valuable time on what I consider diversions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

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

“We don’t have to keep picking the pockets of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle small businesses from the outset with excessive regulation.”

As one of a handful of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, while his critique of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.