UK police rule out probe into Palestine Action post by adviser's wife
London's Metropolitan Police said on Oct. 18, 2026, that a social media post about Palestine Action by author Sarah Helm "did not meet the criminal threshold" and that no further police action will be taken. Al Jazeera
Helm is an author and journalist married to National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, an adviser to Prime Minister Andy Burnham. She published the post on X on Thursday, Oct. 15, writing: "God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action".
A day before the decision, on Oct. 17, police had said the post was "being assessed to determine whether any further police investigation may be required". There was insufficient evidence that the post was capable of encouraging support for a proscribed organisation. Sky News
A UK government spokesperson said Helm's comments "did not represent the government in any capacity". The statement sought to distance ministers from the remarks without attributing a position to Helm beyond the wording of her post.
The case drew attention because Palestine Action has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK since a July 2025 vote by lawmakers. Proscription is a formal legal ban. The Court of Appeal ruled in June that the ban was lawful. Amnesty International says more than 3,500 people have been arrested for allegedly supporting Palestine Action since the ban.
Helm's post referred to a dispute involving Irish novelist Sally Rooney, who announced plans to use royalties to support Palestine Action. Her UK publisher, Faber, said it can no longer supply Rooney's works in the UK in any format, in agreement with Rooney, but will continue to sell them in other countries and regions. Faber said UK legislation had created circumstances where it "cannot pass on UK earnings to Sally Rooney for her work".
