Police determined that Sarah Helm's social media post about Palestine Action did not constitute a criminal offense, ending a brief investigation into the wife of the government's national security adviser.
Helm, married to Jonathan Powell, wrote on X on Thursday: "God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action." She posted in response to a discussion about author Sally Rooney, whose UK publisher Faber stopped supplying her novels after Rooney announced plans to donate her royalties to Palestine Action.
The Metropolitan Police said on Saturday that Helm's post "was assessed by specialist officers and it was determined that it did not meet the criminal threshold." The force confirmed no further action would be taken.
On Friday, the Met had said the post was under review to determine whether investigation was needed after police became aware of the Thursday post referencing Palestine Action.
Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July 2025. Supporting the group is a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison, according to UK law.
Rooney, a best-selling author, said she would donate earnings from her books to Palestine Action, which describes its stated goal as "ending global participation in Israel's genocidal and apartheid regime." Following her announcement, Faber determined it could not sell her novels, including Normal People and Conversations with Friends, in the UK.
The police decision not to pursue charges against Helm suggests that expressing support for the organisation's stated political goals, at least in the context of a social media post, did not cross into criminal territory under UK proscription law, though the exact legal reasoning behind the assessment was not detailed by the force.