Downing Street has distanced itself from comments made by the wife of the prime minister’s national security adviser after she was accused of backing the banned protest group Palestine Action.
Sarah Helm, who is married to Jonathan Powell, posted on X on Thursday: “God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action.”
The group’s proscription, which began on July 5, 2025, made membership or encouragement of support of the direct action group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This is gobsmacking… [and] raises extremely serious questions for Jonathan Powell and the government.
“Spouses are entitled to independent views, but plainly Mr Powell, who leads on our country’s national security and has been intricately involved in our Middle East diplomacy, must publicly denounce this rhetoric if he is to continue in post.”
A government spokesperson said: “These views are held by an individual who does not represent the government in any capacity.”
Helm was responding to a discussion about Normal People author Sally Rooney, who has said she can no longer sell her books in the UK because of her own support for the group.
The Irish author previously said she would donate earnings from her books and BBC adaptations of novels to Palestine Action, which has a stated goal of “ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime”.
As a result, Rooney’s publisher, Faber, has determined it cannot sell her novels in Britain.
Figures have shown a continued surge in terror arrests after the ban on supporting Palestine Action was introduced.
Police have made mass arrests at multiple demonstrations since, where protesters have typically held up placards, worn T-shirts, and donned badges declaring “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”, leading to their arrests under anti-terrorism legislation.
There were 3,867 arrests for suspected terrorist activity in the year to June, of which 3,630 (94%) were linked to supporting the group.
In the previous 12-month period, before the ban came into force, 234 terror arrests were made.
In August, the US government also announced sanctions against Palestine Action, designating it as a terror group.
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