Efforts to free of the British-Egyptian activist frequently diverted the Starmer administration from focusing on core home affairs, as stated by one of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.
Paul Ovenden, who stepped down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the imprisoned activist became a “recurring punchline” among those in government exasperated with the lack of progress of change.
“We would be having long meetings on the priorities of the government, and often they would be derailed via any other business into discussions of this gentleman,” he told 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 affect us on a day-to-day basis. It actually became a sort of a running joke within government that people would invariably find a way to bring it back to this conversation.”
Ovenden said 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 “well-connected” activist groups and arms-length bodies.
Ovenden’s comments were made during his first public intervention since he stepped down in September, after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott previously.
However, Ovenden’s political analysis is echoed 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 main objectives. He cited rows 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 simply can’t afford to be spending their time on what I consider diversions,” he said.
In a separate piece, he calls on the government to roll back environmental regulations, reduce welfare spending and even end the guaranteed pension increase mechanism.
“It is not necessary to keep taking money 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 from the outset with excessive regulation.”
As one 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 analysis of governmental focus resonates in certain quarters.
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