The UK’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, is under pressure to distance himself from a comment made by his wife, the award-winning writer Sarah Helm, in support of Palestine Action. The post was made in defence of the critically acclaimed Irish novelist Sally Rooney, who said she had been forced to pull her books from shelves in the UK after pledging proceeds from their sales to Palestine Action. Helm, a former Sunday Times journalist and diplomatic editor at the Independent who spent many years covering the Middle East, wrote on X indicating support for the direct action group, which was proscribed last year.
Under terror laws, this could constitute a criminal offence, carrying a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. The ban has so far resulted in more than 3,700 arrests for backing the group, with more than 2,250 people formally charged as terrorists. In response to comments by the broadcaster Adam Boulton that Rooney’s support for Palestine was “anti-Jewish”, Helm wrote: “God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action.
Sounds like Adam would have all our books swept off the shelves in a jiffy.” Police said the post was “in the process of being assessed” to determine whether an investigation was required. Downing Street distanced itself from Helm’s post on Friday, with a spokesperson saying: “These views are held by an individual who does not represent the government in any capacity.” Helm’s works include a book about the women imprisoned by the Nazis at the Ravensbrück concentration camp, and Loyalty, a play about the Iraq war, inspired by her husband’s decade as the chief of staff to the then prime minister, Tony Blair. The author, who is writing a book about Gaza, married Powell in 2007.
He was appointed in 2024 as a national security adviser under Keir Starmer. According to government guidance, being married to a suspected or convicted terrorist would normally result in the revocation of security clearance. Under the vetting framework for a job as national security adviser, being married to someone tied to a proscribed terrorist organisation is viewed as creating an automatic, unmitigated national security risk.
Responding to questions about Powell’s position after his wife’s comments, a government spokesperson said: “These views are held by an individual who does not represent the government in any capacity.” A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries, a free speech group which supports the right for people to protest peacefully, thanked Helm for “defying this absurdly authoritarian ban”. This unprecedented attack on free speech in our country is plainly unsustainable,” they said. But her defiance further exposes the absurdity of a ban that cannot be enforced against everyone who challenges it.
There are simply too many of us who will continue to defy this unjust law until the government is forced to see sense and abandon it.” However, the Campaign Against Antisemitism called for Helm to “face the full force of the law”. A spokesperson said: “This is gobsmacking. Clearly, the police need to investigate and Sarah Helm must face the full force of the law, just like others who appear to express support for any proscribed terrorist organisation.
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