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UK Police Decline to Investigate PM Adviser's Wife's Post
· Confirmed
In Short: The Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom announced on Saturday that they would not pursue a criminal investigation into a social media post by Sarah Helm, the wife of Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s national security adviser Jonathan Powell.
The Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom announced on Saturday that they would not pursue a criminal investigation into a social media post by Sarah Helm, the wife of Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s national security adviser Jonathan Powell. According to Al Jazeera (Qatar) and The Times of Israel (Israel), Helm’s post on X appeared to endorse Palestine Action, a group banned as a “terrorist” organization.
Al Jazeera (Qatar) and The Times of Israel (Israel) reported that Helm wrote, “God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action,” in response to a publisher’s decision to withdraw Irish author Sally Rooney’s books from sale in the UK due to her support for Palestine Action.
Both Al Jazeera (Qatar) and The Times of Israel (Israel) noted that Amnesty International has documented over 3,500 arrests in the UK for allegedly supporting Palestine Action since its ban last year, many for holding up placards.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism, a British NGO, responded on X, calling Helm’s post “gobsmacking” and urging the police to investigate and enforce the law. However, the Metropolitan Police spokesperson stated that the post did not meet the criminal threshold.
Al Jazeera (Qatar) and The Times of Israel (Israel) reported that the Court of Appeal upheld the government’s decision to ban Palestine Action in June, ruling that the proscription was lawful.
Despite the mixed reactions, the Metropolitan Police’s decision not to investigate Helm’s post was consistent across multiple publications. The police determined that the post did not meet the criminal threshold and no further action would be taken.
The BBC (United Kingdom) and The Times of Israel (Israel) agreed that the ban on Palestine Action, which began on July 5, 2025, makes membership or support of the group a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The BBC (United Kingdom) and The Times of Israel (Israel) also reported that Sally Rooney’s publisher Faber decided to withdraw her books from sale in the UK due to her support for Palestine Action, a move that has sparked broader discussions about the implications of the ban.
In conclusion, while there are differing opinions on the enforcement of the ban, the Metropolitan Police’s decision not to investigate Helm’s post was consistent across multiple publications, emphasizing that the post did not meet the criminal threshold.
What this adds
The police's decision not to investigate Helm's post has drawn mixed reactions, with some activists and NGOs calling for stricter enforcement of the ban on Palestine Action.
Background
The police's decision not to investigate Helm's post has drawn mixed reactions, with some activists and NGOs calling for stricter enforcement of the ban on Palestine Action.
What's confirmed
- Amnesty International says more than 3,500 people have been arrested in the UK for allegedly supporting Palestine Action since it was banned last year, many of them for holding up placards.
- The Campaign Against Antisemitism, a British NGO, had responded on X that Helm’s post was “gobsmacking” and “clearly, the police need to investigate and Ms Helm must face the full force of the law”.
- Police in the United Kingdom have determined that a social media post by the wife of Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s national security adviser that appears to endorse Palestine Action, a group proscribed in the country as a “terrorist” organisation, does not merit a criminal investigation.
- Palestine Action challenged the government’s decision to ban the group, but the Court of Appeal ruled in June that the proscription was lawful.
- Helm, an author and journalist who is married to National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, wrote on X on Thursday: “God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action.” Helm made the comment after publisher Faber said this week that its Irish author Sally Rooney could not sell her books in the UK, after she announced her plans to use the royalties to support Palestine Action.
- The police had said on Friday that Helm’s post was “being assessed to determine whether any further police investigation may be required”.
- Police have said no further action will be taken against Sarah Helm, author and wife of Andy Burnham's national security adviser, after she was accused of supporting the banned protest group Palestine Action.
- The ban, which began on July 5, 2025, made membership or support of the direct action group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
- Police are looking into comments made by the wife of the Prime Minister’s national security adviser after she appeared to back a proscribed pro-Palestinian group.
- Pro-Palestinian activists stage a solidarity protest outside Royal Courts of Justice as co-founder of Palestine Action Huda Ammori takes Home Secretary to High Court over proscription of the group as terror organization in London, United Kingdom on July 4, 2025. [İlyas Tayfun Salcı – Anadolu Agency] British police are assessing a social media post by the wife of national security adviser Jonathan Powell that references the banned group Palestine Action, the BBC reported on Friday.
- Metropolitan Police ruled Sarah Helm's post did not merit a criminal investigation.
- Sarah Helm, an author and journalist who is married to Jonathan Powell, Britain's national security adviser, published the message on X on October 15 while responding to a televised discussion about author Sally Rooney.
What's still developing
- Sally Rooney has sold more than six million copies of her novels globally Normal People author Sally Rooney has said her novels will no longer be supplied to booksellers in the UK as a result of her support for Palestine Action.
- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft confirmed that he made the decision to bar Macklemore from opening for Ed Sheeran at Gillette Stadium after the Seattle rapper expressed support for Palestinians and called for a “Free Palestine” at a recent show.
- Thursday, September 24, 2026 · 12:11 PM ET In Short: Macklemore was dropped from Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour after just two shows following his performance of 'Hind's Hall,' a song that calls for a 'free Palestine' and criticizes Israel's actions in Gaza.
- As Ed Sheeran was forced to cancel shows over severe weather, Macklemore quickly sold out his Free Palestine Tour.
- Now, here’s more on what happened just this week in Palestine: The official death toll in Gaza from Israel’s genocide topped 74,000, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.
- Sheeran said that he's " not complicit," then cried about it onstage.