{
  "id": 15724862,
  "title": "UK National Security Adviser’s wife Sarah Helm calls for Palestine Action ban to be lifted",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/uk-national-security-advisers-wife-sarah-helm-calls-for-palestine",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-20T08:46:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National UAE",
    "slug": "the-national-uae",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uk/2026/10/20/uk-national-security-advisers-wife-sarah-helm-calls-for-palestine-action-ban-to-be-lifted/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Sarah Helm, the wife of Britain's National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, has called for the lifting of the UK's ban on the Palestine Action group after a police investigation into her social media posts was closed without charges. The UK has proscribed the pro-Palestine group as a terrorist organization, making support for the group a criminal offense. Police concluded that Ms Helm's post did not meet the threshold for criminal action. In response to a letter supporting Irish author Sally Rooney, whose books would no longer be sold in the UK, Ms Helm asked, \"Where do I sign?\" Rooney had been warned that her plan to donate sales earnings could be considered a criminal offense. Ms Helm, a former Middle East correspondent for The Independent, criticized Rooney after a clip deemed her support of Palestine as \"terrorist.\" Over 3,500 people have been arrested in the UK for supporting Palestine Action, mostly for demonstrating. The UK has imposed sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, leading to the downgrade of the UK's Consulate General in Jerusalem. Powell visited Israel to appeal to the Israeli government to maintain the consulate, but ultimately failed. Ms Helm's social media posts, often critical of pro-Palestinian causes, have drawn scrutiny.",
  "summary": "Sarah Helm, the writer and wife of Britain’s National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell , has called for the UK's ban on the Palestine Action group to be lifted, after a police investigation into her social media posts. The UK has proscribed the pro-Palestine group as a terrorist organisation and expressing support for the group is a criminal offence. Police said at the weekend they closed their…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}