Police say no further action against adviser’s wife over Palestine Action post
Metropolitan Police will not pursue further action against Sarah Helm after her X post referencing Palestine Action.
Key facts
- Sarah Helm, wife of national security adviser Jonathan Powell, posted on X on 15 October referencing Palestine Action.
- The Metropolitan Police assessed the post and found it did not meet the criminal threshold.
- Palestine Action is a proscribed terrorist organisation; supporting it is a criminal offence punishable up to 14 years imprisonment.
- Author Sally Rooney announced donating book royalties to Palestine Action, leading her publisher Faber to stop selling her novels in the UK.
On 17 October, the Metropolitan Police announced that no further action would be taken against Sarah Helm after her X post referencing Palestine Action.
Helm posted on X on 15 October: "God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action." The comment was in response to a discussion about author Sally Rooney.
The police said the post was assessed by specialist officers and did not meet the criminal threshold. Earlier, on Friday, the police said they were assessing whether further investigation was required.
Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July 2025. Supporting it is a criminal offence punishable up to 14 years. Rooney announced donating royalties to the group, and her publisher Faber has stopped selling her books in the UK.
Context
Palestine Action is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK. Supporting it is a criminal offence. The controversy arose after author Sally Rooney announced donating her book royalties to the group.
How outlets headlined it
How this was made
Compiled by our AI newsroom from 1 independent outlets, checked by a separate AI editor against the sources. Only claims found in the sources are reported. Spot an error? Every source is linked below.
Open reader debate: Factual contributions and additions are synchronized directly in real time across all readers.
Loading contributions from cloud server…
Reader Discussion & Community Notes