Met Police assess Sarah Helm post backing Palestine Action, a banned group

Police in Britain said on Friday they were looking at a social media post by journalist and author Sarah Helm, the wife of Jonathan Powell, who serves as national security adviser to UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The Times of Israel reported that Helm appeared in the post to voice support for Palestine Action, a group the British government has banned as a terrorist organisation.

According to the same report, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said the post was "being assessed" so officers could decide whether it warranted any further investigation. The Jerusalem Post also reported that police were assessing the adviser's wife over the post, and the Israeli broadcaster N12 reported that British police were examining whether Powell's wife had expressed support for terrorism.

What the post said

Helm wrote on X in reply to a post about Sally Rooney, the Irish novelist. The Times of Israel reported that Rooney said this week that her books would stop being sold in Britain, in connection with her plans to direct her royalties to Palestine Action. In her reply, Helm wrote "God help us authors who support Palestine", and went on to name Palestine Action as well.

The police have not said that an offence was committed. Their stated position, as reported, is limited to an assessment of whether the matter needs to go further.

Who is involved

Jonathan Powell holds the post of national security adviser, a senior role advising the prime minister on security and foreign policy matters. The reports describe him as working for Prime Minister Andy Burnham. Sarah Helm is identified by The Times of Israel as a journalist and author. The N12 report referred to her only as Powell's wife and did not name her.

The Metropolitan Police, often called the Met, is the police force responsible for London. It is the body that issued the statement on the post.

What Palestine Action is and why support for it is an offence

Palestine Action is a pro-Palestinian activist group. The Times of Israel describes it as an anti-Israel group that had increasingly targeted defence companies with links to Israel. According to that report, the British government banned the group shortly after a break-in at the Royal Air Force base at Brize Norton in June 2025.

Proscription is the formal process by which the UK government designates a group as a terrorist organisation. Once a group is proscribed, expressing support for it becomes a criminal offence, which is why a public statement of support can draw police attention, as The Times of Israel noted.

The group has continued to attract public demonstrations by supporters. A Reuters photograph used by The Jerusalem Post shows Palestine Action Group campaigners with placards at a protest in Liverpool on September 27, 2026, where the Labour Party was holding its yearly gathering, as police officers looked on.

How the reports differ

The three reports agree on the central fact: police are assessing a post by Powell's wife. They differ in framing. The Times of Israel says Helm appeared to express support for Palestine Action and quotes her post. N12 frames the police review as a check on whether she expressed support for terrorism, quoting the police as saying she appeared to back the outlawed group. The Jerusalem Post material available to us consists of its headline and a photo caption, so it adds little detail beyond confirming the police assessment.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports says whether Helm has been contacted by police, whether she has commented on the assessment, or whether the post remains online. There is no reported response from Jonathan Powell or from the prime minister's office. The reports do not say how long the assessment will take or what the threshold would be for opening a formal investigation. They also do not give further detail on Sally Rooney's arrangements beyond her announcement about sales of her books in Britain.