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Attempts to free of the British-Egyptian activist regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on core home affairs, according to a former member 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 British political prisoner became a “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall exasperated with the lack of progress of change.

“We'd hold long meetings on the priorities of the government, and often they would be derailed via AOB into conversations of this individual,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “The majority on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn't affect us daily. It actually became a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the amount of time dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “well-connected” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he 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 bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its primary goals. He pointed to controversies 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 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 calls on the government to roll back environmental regulations, cut welfare spending and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the productive parts of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a handful 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.