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Efforts to secure the release of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted the Starmer administration from concentrating on core home affairs, as stated by a former member of the PM's inner circle of ex-aides.

A 'Running Joke' Within Government

Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner evolved into a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by the slow pace of change.

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

He added, “Most of us on the political team of government weren’t that aware 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 invariably find a way to bring it back to this topic.”

A Sign of Wider Struggles

Ovenden argued the significant focus dedicated to freeing Abd el-Fattah was symptomatic of a government that has found it difficult 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, following revelations he had sent offensive texts about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.

Shared Frustrations in Downing Street

But, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed by many in Number 10, even the prime minister, who lamented last month about bureaucratic hurdles delaying government action.

Ovenden stated Abd el-Fattah’s case was among a number of areas where the government was sidetracked from its main objectives. He cited rows over reparations to former colonies and prohibiting cigarettes in pub gardens as further examples.

“When the public is getting more and more frustrated, more and more fed up with inaction, more and more fed up 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 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 taking money of the wealth-generating sectors of our economy in order to fund inflation-busting pension increases for the wealthy or an unsustainable welfare system,” he writes. “We don’t have to stifle small businesses at birth with regulatory burdens.”

As one of a small group of advisers around the prime minister since his days in opposition, his departure was widely regarded as a setback to Starmer, while his analysis of Whitehall priorities finds sympathy in certain quarters.