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Efforts to free of the British-Egyptian activist regularly distracted the Starmer administration from concentrating on bread-and-butter home affairs, according to one of the PM's inner circle of 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 government frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

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

He added, “The majority on the political side of government weren’t that aware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us daily. It truly turned into a sort of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the significant focus dedicated to the activist's case was indicative of a government that has struggled to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments 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 political analysis is shared by many in Number 10, 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 cited rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.

“At a time when the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with inaction, more and more fed up with distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he calls on the government to roll back environmental regulations, cut 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 pay for above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “There is no need to stifle small businesses from the outset with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his exit was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, even as his analysis of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.