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No police probe into PM adviser's wife over Palestine Action post, Met Police say

The Metropolitan Police will take no further action over an X post by Sarah Helm, the wife of national security adviser Jonathan Powell, seen to endorse banned group Palestine Action, ruling it did 'not meet the criminal threshold'.

By Sarah Whitfield · · 2 min read

The Metropolitan Police will take no further action over a social media post by the wife of the prime minister’s national security adviser that was seen to endorse banned activist group Palestine Action.

Sarah Helm, an author and journalist married to Jonathan Powell — the national security adviser to Prime Minister Andy Burnham — wrote on X on Thursday: “God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action.”

Helm was commenting after publisher Faber said this week that it could no longer supply the works of its Irish author Sally Rooney in the UK, after Rooney announced plans to use her royalties to support Palestine Action. “To sell a writer’s work and not be able to pass on earnings is an unconscionable situation for a publisher,” Faber said.

The force said on Friday the post was “being assessed to determine whether any further police investigation may be required”. On Saturday a spokesperson said specialist officers had looked at it and ruled it “did not meet the criminal threshold. No further police action will be taken.” It is understood there was insufficient evidence that the post was capable of encouraging support for a proscribed organisation.

Asked for comment on Friday, a government spokesperson said Helm’s remarks did “not represent the government in any capacity”. The Campaign Against Antisemitism had called the post “gobsmacking” and demanded an investigation.

Palestine Action has been proscribed as a “terrorist” organisation since a July 2025 vote by MPs, making support for the group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Amnesty International says more than 3,500 people have been arrested in the UK for allegedly supporting the group since the ban.

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