Police assess Palestine Action post by national security adviser’s wife

British police are assessing a social media post in which Sarah Helm, the wife of national security adviser Jonathan Powell, said she supported Palestine Action, a group the government has designated a terrorist organisation.

“God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action,” Helm wrote on X on Thursday. She was responding to a discussion about Irish novelist Sally Rooney, who has said she intends to use royalties from her books to support the group. The BBC reported that Rooney’s novels will no longer be supplied to booksellers in the UK following her announcement.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said Friday that officers had been made aware of the post and that it was “being assessed to determine whether any further police investigation may be required.” Police have not said whether they will open an investigation.

A No 10 spokeswoman said Helm was “an individual who does not represent the government in any capacity.” The BBC said it had attempted to contact Helm for comment. She is an author and journalist who has worked for the Sunday Times and as a foreign correspondent for the Independent.

The post drew sharply different responses. Reform UK lawmaker Danny Kruger wrote to the prime minister raising concerns about it, according to the BBC. The Campaign Against Antisemitism called the post “gobsmacking” and said that, while spouses were entitled to independent views, Powell should publicly denounce Helm’s words if he was to remain in his national security role.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski defended Helm, saying she was “speaking absolute common sense and should be commended for her bravery.” He called for the government to remove Palestine Action’s terrorist designation “immediately.” Al Jazeera reported that activist group Defend Our Juries also defended Helm and said it knew of 36 people whose homes had been raided after they expressed support for Palestine Action online.

Palestine Action describes itself as a “direct action movement” that uses “disruptive tactics.” The UK government proscribed it in 2025, making membership or support a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Al Jazeera reported that the ban followed a break-in at a Royal Air Force base in which activists sprayed red paint on two aircraft to protest British military support for Israel’s war in Gaza. Separately, the BBC reported that four activists were jailed this year after causing £1.2 million in damage at a UK site of an Israel-based defence firm.

The designation has prompted protests and thousands of arrests. The BBC put the number arrested for publicly expressing support at an estimated 3,700 and said about 2,500 had been charged, with those cases yet to go to trial. Al Jazeera, citing Amnesty International, reported more than 3,500 arrests for alleged support since the ban took effect. The BBC said a legal challenge is due to be heard in the Supreme Court next month; Al Jazeera reported that the Court of Appeal upheld the proscription in June.

Powell, a former diplomat and adviser to Tony Blair, was appointed national security adviser in 2024 and retained the post when Andy Burnham became prime minister, according to the BBC.