UK police rule out probe into Palestine Action post by PM adviser’s wife

Officers determine post by Sarah Helm, seen to endorse Palestine-action" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="73" data-entity-type="organization">Palestine Action, does ‘not meet the criminal threshold’.Police in the United Kingdom have determined that a social media post by the wife of Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s national security adviser that appears to endorse Palestine-action" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="73" data-entity-type="organization">Palestine Action, a group proscribed in the country as a “terrorist” organisation, does not merit a criminal investigation.A Metropolitan Police spokesperson on Saturday said that officers looked at Sarah Helm’s post and ruled that it “did not meet the criminal threshold. No further police action will be taken.”Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Israel lashes out as UK’s Green Party formally defines Zionism as ‘racism’list 2 of 3Before UK Greens, who else has equated Zionism with racism?list 3 of 3UK Green member behind anti-Zionism motion ‘receives death threats’end of listThe police had said on Friday that Helm’s post was “being assessed to determine whether any further police investigation may be required”.Helm, an author and journalist who is married to National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, wrote on X on Thursday: “God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine-action" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="73" data-entity-type="organization">Palestine Action.”Helm made the comment after publisher Faber said this week that its Irish author Sally Rooney could not sell her books in the UK, after she announced her plans to use the royalties to support Palestine-action" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="73" data-entity-type="organization">Palestine Action.Author Sally Rooney poses for a photograph ahead of the announcement of the winner of the Costa Book Awards 2018 in London [File: Henry Nicholls/Reuters]“Current legislation in the UK has led to circumstances where Faber cannot pass on UK earnings to Sally Rooney for her work. To sell a writer’s work and not be able to pass on earnings is an unconscionable situation for a publisher,” Faber said in a statement on its website.“As such, and in full agreement with Sally, we have taken the decision that we can no longer supply her works in the UK in any format,” the British publisher said, adding that it would continue to sell her work in other countries and regions.