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

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the PM's chief of strategy, claimed the case of the imprisoned activist became a “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall exasperated with 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 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 – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn't affect us on a day-to-day basis. 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 topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the significant focus spent on the activist's case 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 “influential” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

Ovenden’s comments were made during his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, following revelations he sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Downing Street, even the prime minister, who complained last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.

Ovenden said 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.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, 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 roll back green rules, reduce welfare spending and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have to keep taking money of the productive parts of our economy in order to pay for inflation-busting pension increases for millionaires or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he argues. “There is no need to stifle small businesses at birth with regulatory burdens.”

Having been part of a handful of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his exit was seen by many as a blow to Starmer, while his analysis of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.