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Efforts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted Keir Starmer’s government from concentrating on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, as stated by one of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner became a “recurring punchline” 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 railroaded via AOB 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 weren’t that aware of it – not closely following 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 invariably find a way to return to this conversation.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the amount of time spent on freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to stay focused on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments came in his first public intervention since he resigned in September, after it was revealed he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.

Ovenden stated 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 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 diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a separate piece, he urges the government to scale back green rules, cut benefits expenditure and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“It is not necessary to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “There is no need to stifle entrepreneurs at birth with excessive regulation.”

As one of a handful 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 Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.