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Efforts to free of the British-Egyptian activist regularly distracted the Starmer administration from focusing on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, according to 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 imprisoned activist evolved into a “running joke” among those in government exasperated with the lack of progress of change.

“We'd hold long meetings on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via any other business into conversations of this individual,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He continued, “Most of us on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. 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 conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the amount of time dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was indicative of a government that has found it difficult to remain concentrated on voters’ core priorities in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

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

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

However, Ovenden’s assessment is echoed by many in Number 10, including the prime minister, who lamented last month about excessive red tape delaying government action.

Ovenden said Abd el-Fattah’s case was one of several areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He pointed to controversies over compensation for historical injustices and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as further examples.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, ever more disillusioned with a lack of progress, 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 separate piece, he calls on the government to scale back environmental regulations, reduce welfare spending and even scrap the triple-lock on pensions.

“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets 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 writes. “We don’t have to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with excessive regulation.”

Having been part of a small group of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in the opposition benches, his departure was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, while his critique of governmental focus finds sympathy in certain quarters.