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

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, claimed the case of the British political prisoner became a “recurring punchline” among those in Whitehall frustrated by the slow pace of change.

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

He continued, “Most of us on the political side of government were largely unaware of it – not closely following it – because it didn’t impact us daily. It truly turned into a sort of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”

Symptomatic of a Broader Issue

Ovenden said the significant focus spent on the activist's case was symptomatic of a government that has struggled to remain concentrated on the public's main concerns in the face of pressure from “influential” campaign organisations and quasi-independent agencies.

These remarks came in his initial public statement since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he had sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago.

Echoes of PM's Own Concerns

But, Ovenden’s assessment is shared by many in Downing Street, including 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 was sidetracked from its primary goals. He pointed to rows over reparations to former colonies and banning smoking in outdoor hospitality areas as other instances.

“When the public is getting increasingly impatient, ever more disillusioned with inaction, more and more fed up with side issues, in my opinion, we simply can’t afford to be using valuable time on what I consider distractions,” he said.

Calls for Policy Overhaul

In a further article, he calls on the government to scale back green rules, reduce benefits expenditure and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.

“We don’t have 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 stifle small businesses 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 exit was seen by many as a setback to Starmer, even as his analysis of Whitehall priorities resonates in certain quarters.