Metropolitan Police Take No Further Action Over Sarah Helm Post Referencing Palestine Action

Police have taken no further action after Sarah Helm, the wife of the government’s national security adviser Jonathan Powell, posted on social media about writers who support Palestine and Palestinian action.

“God help us writers who support Palestine and Palestinian action,” Helm wrote on X on Thursday.

Her post responded to a discussion about author Sally Rooney, whose novels will no longer be supplied to British bookstores after she announced that she intended to use royalties from her books to support banned organisations.

Police assess Sarah Helm’s X post

The Metropolitan Police said on Saturday that Helm’s post had been “assessed by specialist police officers and determined that it did not meet the criteria for a criminal offence”.

The force added: “No further police action will be taken.”

On Friday, the Metropolitan Police said the matter was “under review to determine whether further police investigation is required” after it became “aware of an X post on Thursday, October 15, which referred to Palestinian actions”.

Palestine Action was banned in July 2025

Palestine Action was banned as a terrorist organisation in July 2025. Supporting the group is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Best-selling author Sally Rooney said she would donate proceeds from her books to the organisation, which aims to “end Israel’s genocide and global participation in the apartheid system”.

Following her announcement, Rooney’s publisher, Faber, decided that her novels—including Normal People and Conversations with Friends—could not be sold in the UK.