British police are reviewing a social media post by the wife of National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell in which she appeared to express support for Palestine Action, a group the UK has designated as a "terrorist" organisation.
"God help us authors, Palestine supporters and Palestine Action," Sarah Helm, a writer married to Powell — national security adviser to Prime Minister Andy Burnham — wrote on X on Thursday.
She made the remark in response to a post defending Irish novelist Sally Rooney, who said this week she would no longer sell her books in the United Kingdom, citing her intention to use her royalties to support Palestine Action.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said on Friday that Helm's post "is being assessed to determine whether any further investigative activity is required".
A government spokesperson, quoted by Reuters, said the views expressed in Helm's post "are those of an individual and do not represent the government in any shape or form".
'Outrageously authoritarian ban'
The UK-based activist group Defend Our Juries has defended Helm for challenging what it calls an "outrageously authoritarian ban on Palestine Action".
"We know of 36 people who have been arrested and had their homes raided for expressing similar support for Palestine Action on social media," a spokesperson for the group said.
"We hope Sarah will not face such treatment for speaking out in defence of free speech and Palestinian lives."
The UK government outlawed Palestine Action in July 2025 after activists from the group broke into a Royal Air Force base and sprayed red paint on two aircraft in protest at Britain's military support for Israel's war in Gaza. Membership of, or support for, the group carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
Since the ban took effect, police in the UK have arrested more than 3,500 people on suspicion of supporting the group, according to human rights organisation Amnesty International, many of them simply for holding up banners.
Palestine Action has challenged its proscription, but the Court of Appeal upheld the decision in June.
Britain's new foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, said last month that the government was "reviewing" the ban on Palestine Action, adding that he did not believe the mass arrests triggered by the proscription were "anyone's intention".
