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Efforts to free of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted the Starmer administration from concentrating on core home affairs, as stated by a former member of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.

Frustration Became a Source of Humour

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist evolved into a “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the lack of progress of change.

“We'd hold long meetings on the priorities of the government, and often they would be railroaded via AOB into discussions of this gentleman,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added, “The majority on the political side 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 actually became a bit of a kind of a standing joke within government that people would invariably 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 struggled to stay focused on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” activist groups and arms-length bodies.

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

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s political analysis 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 became distracted from its main objectives. He pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as further examples.

“At a time when the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with a lack of progress, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Advocating for a Radical Shift

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

“It is not necessary to keep picking the pockets of the productive parts of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unaffordable benefits framework,” he writes. “There is no need to strangle entrepreneurs at birth with excessive regulation.”

As one of a handful of advisers close to the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was widely regarded as a blow to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.