No police action against national security adviser's wife over Palestine Action post
No further police action will be taken against Sarah Helm, a journalist and author married to Jonathan Powell, the prime minister's national security adviser, over a social media post accused of supporting Palestine Action, The Guardian.
Helm wrote on X on Thursday: "God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action". The post continued: "Sounds like Adam would have all our books swept off the shelves in a jiffy."
The Metropolitan Police said they were made aware on Thursday 15 October of a post on X relating to Palestine Action. Specialist officers assessed the post and determined it did not meet the criminal threshold. Police found there was insufficient evidence that the post was capable of encouraging support for a proscribed organisation, a banned group under UK law.
Helm's post was responding to discussion about Irish author Sally Rooney, who said she can no longer sell her books in the UK because of her support for Palestine Action.
Palestine Action is a pro-Palestinian group banned as a terrorist organisation, Reuters. Its activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and sprayed red paint before the UK government outlawed the group in July 2025, Al Jazeera. The ban, which began in July 2025, made membership or support of the group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism had called on police to investigate Helm's post. A government spokesperson said Helm's views are held by an individual who does not represent the government in any capacity.
