UK police take no further action over Sarah Helm’s Palestine Action post
Specialist officers concluded that the author’s post did not meet the criminal threshold, closing an assessment announced a day earlier.
The Metropolitan Police said on Saturday, 17 October, that it would take no further action over a post by author Sarah Helm about the banned group Palestine Action in the UK. Specialist officers assessed the post and concluded that it did not meet the criminal threshold, the force said, bringing its assessment to an end.
The decision follows the police assessment reported on 16 October. At that point, the force had said it was considering whether Helm’s post required further investigation. Police said they had been made aware of it on Thursday, 15 October.
What Sarah Helm posted
Helm, a journalist and author married to national security adviser Jonathan Powell, wrote on X on 15 October: “God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action.” Her comment was a response to a discussion about Irish author Sally Rooney’s support for the group, the Guardian reported. Palestine Action was proscribed in the UK in July 2025.
The Guardian reported that there was understood to be insufficient evidence that Helm’s post was capable of encouraging support for a proscribed organisation. The police statement quoted by the Guardian and BBC gave the force’s conclusion but did not set out that reasoning. The decision concerns this post and the police assessment of it.
Government and campaign group responses
Downing Street distanced itself from Helm’s remarks while the police assessment was under way. A government spokesperson said her views were held by an individual who did not represent the government in any capacity. Powell is the government’s national security adviser; the police decision addressed his wife’s post, not any action by him.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism had urged police to investigate. The group acknowledged that spouses were entitled to independent views but said Helm’s post raised serious questions for Powell and the government. Its call for police action preceded the force’s finding that the post did not meet the criminal threshold.
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Sources and context
- No action to be taken against wife of PM’s aide over Palestine Action postThe Guardian
- No further action against government adviser's wife over Palestine Action post, police sayBBC News, reporting with PA Media credit
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.