Met Police take no further action over Sarah Helm post

The Metropolitan Police said Saturday that Sarah Helm’s post about Palestine Action did not meet the criminal threshold and that no further police action would be taken. The decision followed an assessment by specialist officers, the force said; it did not amount to a finding that Helm had committed an offence. Helm, an author and journalist who is married to national security adviser Jonathan Powell, posted on X on October 15: “God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action.” She was responding to discussion of Irish novelist Sally Rooney, whose publisher, Faber, said it could no longer supply her books in the United Kingdom after Rooney said she intended to direct royalties to Palestine Action. The police had said Friday that they were assessing the post to determine whether further investigation might be needed. In its Saturday update, the force said specialist officers had reviewed it and decided it did not meet the criminal threshold. One report said it was understood there was insufficient evidence that the post could encourage support for a proscribed organisation; the police statement itself did not give a detailed explanation of the assessment. A...