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Efforts to free of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted the Starmer administration from concentrating on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, according to one of the prime minister’s closest ex-aides.

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 evolved into a “running joke” among those in Whitehall exasperated with the lack of progress of change.

“We'd hold extended discussions on the key goals of the government, and frequently they would be railroaded via any other business into discussions of this gentleman,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “Most of us on the political team of government were largely unaware of it – weren’t that tuned into it – because it didn’t impact us on a day-to-day basis. It truly turned into a sort 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 argued the significant focus dedicated to 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 arms-length bodies.

These remarks came in 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

However, Ovenden’s political analysis is shared by many in Downing Street, even 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 rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes 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 diversions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he urges the government to roll back green rules, reduce benefits expenditure 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 fund above-inflation pension rises for millionaires or an unsustainable welfare system,” he argues. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs from the outset with excessive regulation.”

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