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Efforts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on core domestic political issues, as stated by a former member of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

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 slow pace of change.

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

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

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the amount of time dedicated to 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 “well-connected” campaign organisations and arms-length bodies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during 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 assessment is shared by many in Downing Street, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles slowing government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He cited controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in pub gardens as further examples.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, more and more fed up with inaction, more and more fed up with distraction, in my opinion, we cannot justify to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

In a further article, he urges the government to roll back environmental regulations, reduce benefits expenditure and even end the triple-lock on pensions.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to pay for above-inflation pension rises for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs at birth with regulatory burdens.”

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