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

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

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

“We would be having long meetings on the priorities of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via AOB into discussions of this gentleman,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political side 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 actually became a sort of a running joke within government that people would always find a way to return to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the significant focus spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations 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 offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Downing Street, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about excessive red tape slowing government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government became distracted from its primary goals. He pointed to controversies over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with inaction, increasingly tired with distraction, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a further article, he calls on the government to scale back environmental regulations, cut benefits expenditure and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“It is not necessary to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset 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 widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.