Met Police rules Sarah Helm's post backing Palestine Action not criminal

The Metropolitan Police said Saturday that a social media post by Sarah Helm, the wife of the British prime minister’s national security adviser, backing the proscribed group Palestine Action did not merit a criminal investigation. Sarah Helm, a journalist and author and wife of Jonathan Powell, Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s national security adviser, posted on X Thursday “God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action”, an activist group proscribed by the UK government last year. A spokesperson for the capital’s police force said Saturday specialist officers had looked at the post and ruled it “did not meet the criminal threshold” and “no further police action will be taken”. Helm was commenting after publisher Faber said this week that its Irish author Sally Rooney cannot sell her books in the UK because of her support for the pro-Palestine group. Since Keir Starmer's Labour government proscribed Palestine Action in July 2025, expressing support for or being a member of the direct action group is a criminal offence that could lead to a prison sentence of up to 14 years. God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action. Sounds like Adam would have all our books swept off the shelves in a jiffy. — Sarah Helm (@SarahHelm1) October 15, 2026